Marais Erasmus (South Africa), Vijaya Mallela (USA), Paul Wilson (Australia, TV)
Referee
Jeff Crowe (New Zealand)
Toss
San Francisco Unicorns elected to bowl
Pitch Report
24 wickets in four matches on this pitch number five. What I am hearing is spin to win. Match one had a degree of spin. Last night was a bit more. Rachin Ravindra got it to turn. It's a good wicket.
VENUE STATS
1st Innings
163Avg Runs
7Avg Wkts
136.03Avg
SR
2nd Innings
139Avg Runs
6Avg Wkts
129.39Avg
SR
Weather Update
Weather Update
Texas,USA
Updated: 21 Jul 09:00
14.9°CClear
clear sky
0%
Clouds
0%
Rain %
41%
Humidity
19.9 kmph
Wind
Playing XILineups Out
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Venue Details
Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas
24 wickets in four matches on this pitch number five. What I am hearing is spin to win. Match one had a degree of spin. Last night was a bit more. Rachin Ravindra got it to turn. It's a good wicket.
The commentary is not available for this match. Please check the scorecard for latest updates.
That will be all from us for this game. This is Dwaipayan Mukherjee, signing off with my co-commentator Rudransh. We will see you soon.
Corey Anderson, San Francisco Unicorns Captain : Happy with the outcome. That's always the goal at the start of the tournament, aiming at top two finish at the end of the group stages, could not have asked for things to pan out in a better manner. We have adapted well with both bat and ball. I think the batters showed how well they can be today, it is there for everyone to see and even the bowling department is great because we have got genuine wicket takers and the job for me becomes very much easier. With the dimensions of the ground, chasing can be easier. The injuries are never ideal, we will have to speak to the physios to understand what is exactly the situation with Plunkett and a couple of other guys but we have got great depth to our squad. It is what it is and we are professionals. We are expected to do well under all circumstances and I am confident that the bunch of guys we have around will find ways to win, no matter what.
Heinrich Klassen, Seattle Orcas Captain : Disappointed with the loss. We lacked a lot of firepower with the batting throughout the season, that is where it all went wrong for us. Can't fault the bowlers, they did well under most conditions which was a positive for us. Our score was below par today, we had a phenomenal start after that first over, but there were far too many setbacks in the middle overs which derailed us. Quinny is a special cricketer, he does not care too much about records but he will cherish this one. He is still young, has got a lot of years left in him, he is only about 32, I will chat with him to see if we can get a label on the number of years he will be around. For the last game, it is about giving our best and playing together as a team and ending the campaign on a winning note.
Finn Allen is the Player of the Match: Swinging it early was exactly what we asked of him (Carmi le Roux) and making the early inroads was important. I just wanted to be aggressive and put the bowlers under pressure. The pitch had a bit for both batters and bowlers. We both (him and Short) enjoy batting together. The communication is good and I often get the best seat in the house. We go to Washington on Monday and will try and finish it well.
Stick around for the post-match presentation!
Hassan Khan: I was just bowling in the right areas and there was a bit in the pitch. As a player, you have to be ready. I have been practicing well. Like always, he (Shane Watson) was supportive and told me to be fearless. I just like to keep it simple with batting and back my shots. We are very happy. Great to be in the top-two and finish on a high note.
San Francisco Unicorns (156 for 4 from 14.2 overs) defeat Seattle Orcas (152 for 7) by 6 wickets
Fin Allen - 77 (30) | Josh Inglis - 24* (17) Harmeet Singh - 2/39 | Imad Wasim - 1/20
Defending champions Seattle Orcas have been officially eliminated! San Francisco Unicorns have sealed a top two finish for them. This result also ensures the qualification of Texas Super Kings.
It was always going to be Orcas chasing this game with the fiery line up of the Unicorns. More often than not, we have seen Imad Wasim opening the bowling for the various T20 franchises that he has played for over the years. Klaasen wanted to do the same tonight as well but took a late call and went with the seam of Ngidi. Probably, it had got to do something with how Le Roux went about his business in the opening over of the day.
Ryan Rickelton spoke with the commentators early on during this chase and labelled the wicket as interesting for tonight as Matt Short made the score of 152 slightly below par in the opening over of Cameron Gannon which leaked 18 runs. Rickelton also mentioned about how the starts for chases on these surfaces can be great but the scoring can get stagnated as we approach the middle overs.
Fin Allen and Matt Short did what they do so well in the Powerplay overs - bringing up their half century stand in only 4 and a half overs. There was no signs of slowing down in the initial overs as Lungi Ngidi's 2nd over was dispatched for 28 runs as the Unicorns raced to 63 for no loss in the opening 5 overs. The striking was magnificent as Allen brought up his 50 from only 21 balls. The young Kiwi opener also has the 2nd highest strike rate in the history of T20 cricket among all batters to have atleast played a 100 innings - his career strike rate of 167 is only behind Andre Russell's 170!
The 84 run opening stand was broken by Imad Wasim but Allen kept going for a brief while more with some unbelievable hits over the boundary line. When he got out, it was a great 77 run effort from only 30 balls. He was leaving the scene after bringing down the required run rate to only 4 and a half for the remaining 12 overs - such was the essence of his attacking approach that blew away the Orcas.
At the end, Unicorns got across the line with relative ease. Corey Anderson and Hassan Khan bailed them out of a precarious situation in one of the earlier matches where they were reeling at 33 for 5 and today, Inglis and Sherfane Rutherford further aided the one way traffic tonight. So, apart from the explosive top order, the Unicorns are also finding other heroes in their batting line up. These are great signs for them and this has been a comprehensive result for them as the fireworks go up in the air, making the temperature warmer.
14.2 Harmeet Singh to Josh Inglis, SIX! AND THAT'S IT! The last year's runners-up have been knocked out and TSK have qualified because of them. The Unicorns continue their brilliant run with a 15 over win. Loopy ball on off, Inglis trusts his power and slogs it high over deep mid-wicket!
14.1 Harmeet Singh to Josh Inglis, full and wide outside off, Inglis goes through with the drive and beats covers to take a couple
Surely, we have only one more over to this game. Anderson wants to waste no time! Just 5 more runs needed now..