MLC 2023 Points Table: Updated standings after Washington Freedom vs Seattle Orcas, Match 3
Match numbers 2 and 3 kicked off on July 15 at Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Texas. The day saw clashes between San Francisco Unicorns & MI New York and Washington Freedom & Seattle Orcas respectively.
San Francisco registered a 22-run win against MI New York to leapfrog their opponents in the points table to number two position. They have a healthy NRR of 1.1. Corey Anderson and Shadab Khan were the architects of San Francisco’s triumph over New York, who are down to fourth with a sorry-looking NRR of -1.1.
Seattle, meanwhile, got away with a five-wicket win against Washington Freedom in a low-scoring thriller. They're now third in the standings with an NRR of 0.325, while Washington are fourth with a horrid-looking NRR of -0.325.
Washington, New York and Los Angeles are yet to register wins. Despite movements in the points table, Texas Super Kings stay at the top with an unassailable NRR of 3.45.
MI New York crash out to San Francisco Unicorns in run-fest
The Unicorns were reduced to 50-4 in the seventh over before Corey Anderson (91* off 52) and Shadab Khan (61 off 30) got them back inro the game with a 129-run stand. Tajinder Singh Dhillon played a breezy cameo of 18* off 10 before Anderson ended the innings with a powerful hit that took the Unicorns to 215-5.
Boult and Rabada fared with two wickets apiece for New York while the rest of the bowlers were taken to the cleaners. In response, MINY got off to a shaky start losing two wickets in the first three overs.
Brevis and Pooran steadied innings with a 51-run stand, but the scoring rate was below par. A flourishing partnership between Pollard & Pooran developed which threatened the Unicorns for a while, but Plunkett removed both batters and got the Unicorns back in command.
Liam Plunkett was the pick of the Unicorn bowlers with 2-30, while Shadab Khan took the wicket of Brevis. Carmi Le Roux looked promising upfront and accounted for both openers.
Unicorns eventually held their nerve against the big hitters from MINY and got over the line. Tim David played a fighting knock of 53* off 28 but it was too little too late, as his side fell 23 runs short of their target.
Seattle Orcas thump Washington Freedom in low-scoring thriller
Seattle Orcas were very tidy with the ball first up. Wayne Parnell and Harmeet Singh were the pick of the bowlers, sharing four wickets.
Imad Wasim was brilliant with the ball and with the bat later on in the innings. He only conceded 19 in his four-over spell and picked up a wicket. A well-rounded effort from the bowlers helped Seattle restrict Washington to 144.
Washington were disappointing with their batting effort. They did not have a promising start with the bat and ended up with a below-par score. Moises Henriques and Akeal Hosein were the main pillars with 24 (19) and 33 (22) respectively. Their inability to accelerate through the middle overs led to their dismal show with the bat.
However, they did have some success early on with the ball. Anrich Nortje, Akeal Hosein, Moises Henriques and Dane Piedt picked up a wicket apiece while Saurabh Netravalkar was wicketless. While chasing a modest target of 145, Seattle got off to a wobbly start. Key players, like Quinton de Kock, Shehan Jayasuriya and Heinrich Klaasen were back in the hut in no time.
With the pressure mounting, Wasim and Nauman Anwar stitched a match-reviving stand of 44 runs for the fourth wicket to bring them closer to the finishing line. Shubham Ranjane hit back-back boundaries to take his side over the line. Washington will hope to turn things around against Texas Super Kings in their next game on July 17.