Top 5 bowling performances of MLC 2024 ft. Rachin Ravindra & Marco Jansen
The second season of Major League Cricket (MLC) lived up to all the hype and expectations with several brilliant performances and close finishes. While the MI New York could not defend their title, the Washington Freedom (WAF) enjoyed an incredible run throughout the tournament.
Led by former Australian captain Steve Smith, they finished atop the points table and ran through the second-placed San Francisco Unicorns (SAF) in the Qualifier and grand finale. The competition also had several 2024 T20 World Cup stars light up Morrisville and Dallas with game-changing displays with bat and ball.
USA's left-arm pacer Saurabh Netravalkar finished as the leading wicket-taker with 15 scalps. The left-armers' domination continued as Rachin Ravindra and Marco Jansen finished second and third with 12 and 11 wickets, respectively.
The trio aside, several others produced match-winning bowling performances throughout the 2024 MLC season.
Here, we look at the top five bowling performances of MLC 2024.
#5 Rashid Khan - 3/22 vs Seattle Orcas
How can any top-five bowling list of a T20 tournament not have Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan? The champion leg-spinner started his domination from the season opener, picking up figures of 3/22 in four overs against the Seattle Orcas.
Rashid's scalps included the dangerous Aaron Jones (12), the well-set Shubham Ranjane (35), and arguably the world's best T20 batter, Heinrich Klaasen (5). His magical spell helped the MI New York restrict the Orcas to a below-par 108 all-out in 19.1 overs.
The MI New York completed the chase in the 15th over with six wickets in hand to begin their title defense in style.
Rashid finished as the tournament's joint-fifth leading wicket-taker with 10 scalps at an average of 16 and an economy of 6.15 in seven outings.
#4 Glenn Maxwell - 3/15 vs Los Angeles Knight Riders
The bowler in Glenn Maxwell played as big a role as the batter in WAF's title run in MLC 2024.
His best performance came against the dangerous Los Angeles Knight Riders batting lineup at Morrisville. Bowling first, Maxwell got amongst the wickets with a peach to clean up Bangladesh veteran Shakib Al Hasan for a two-ball duck.
He then returned after the powerplay to remove USA's Nitish Kumar before landing the dagger blow with the wicket of Andre Russell for 20.
His spell of 3/15 in four overs helped WAF restrict the Knight Riders to 129, a target they chased down in only 16 overs. Maxwell finished the season with 10 wickets (fifth in the competition) at an average of 17 and an economy of 6.66.
#3 Lockie Ferguson - 4/26 vs Seattle Orcas
New Zealand speedster Lockie Ferguson put the MLC on notice with his fiery spell of bowling against the Seattle Orcas in Dallas.
In a WAF attack full of match-winners, it was Ferguson's turn to produce a match-winning performance. The right-arm pacer broke a blossoming Orcas innings by dismissing the South African pair of Ryan Rickelton and Quinton de Kock in back-to-back overs.
Ferguson returned at the death with a double-wicket 17th over, removing Imad Wasim and Hammad Azam to stifle the Orcas further. He finished with outstanding figures of 4/26 in four overs as WAF restricted the Orcas to a sub-par 124 all-out.
The eventual champions completed the run-chase in the 19th over and Ferguson ended the tournament as the joint-fifth leading wicket-taker with 10 scalps in seven games.
#2 Rachin Ravindra - 4/11 vs San Francisco Unicorns
After WAF suffered their lone loss in the group stage game to SAF, the two teams met in the qualifier for the chance to advance to the grand finale.
New Zealand's batting all-rounder Rachin Ravindra continued his surprisingly impressive bowling form with a game-changing display. The 24-year-old removed a well-set Sanjay Krishnamurthi for 19 before picking up three wickets in the end overs, including star performer Hassan Khan for 57.
Ravindra finished with outstanding figures of 4/11 in 2.4 overs to help WAF contain SAF to a lowly 145 all-out in 19 overs. WAF then completed the run-chase comfortably to go through to the final.
#1 Marco Jansen - 3/28 vs San Francisco Unicorns
South African left-arm pacer overcame his disappointment in the recent 2024 T20 World Cup final with a terrific showing in MLC's summit clash.
After WAF scored a massive 207 in their 20 overs, Jasen broke the back of the SAF batting lineup in the powerplay. The tall pacer cleaned up dangerous openers Jake Fraser-McGurk and Finn Allen inside the powerplay to all but seal the deal for WAF.
Jansen then returned to sniff out any miraculous SAF recovery by dismissing the in-form Hassan Khan for 13 to finish with incredible figures of 3/28 in 4 overs.
His demolition act helped WAF crush SAF by 96 runs to be crowned MLC champions. Jansen finished the 2024 MLC season joint-third on the wicket-taking charts with 11 scalps in eight matches.