Billy Taylor (USA), Marais Erasmus (South Africa), Paul Wilson (Australia, TV)
Referee
Jeff Crowe (New Zealand)
Toss
San Francisco Unicorns elected to bowl
Pitch Report
We have moved from pitch number 3 to pitch number 5. There is a fair bit of grass on the pitch. The fast bowlers will enjoy bowling and the ball will carry on nicely. It will be evenly balanced by the spinners might be out of play here
VENUE STATS
1st Innings
164Avg Runs
7Avg Wkts
136.91Avg
SR
2nd Innings
140Avg Runs
6Avg Wkts
131.26Avg
SR
Weather Update
Weather Update
Texas,USA
Updated: 23 Jul 10:00
17.3°CClouds
broken clouds
75%
Clouds
0%
Rain %
45%
Humidity
5 kmph
Wind
Playing XILineups Out
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Venue Details
Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas
We have moved from pitch number 3 to pitch number 5. There is a fair bit of grass on the pitch. The fast bowlers will enjoy bowling and the ball will carry on nicely. It will be evenly balanced by the spinners might be out of play here
The commentary is not available for this match. Please check the scorecard for latest updates.
That's all from this electrifying encounter which lived up to the billing of a top table clash! This is Dwaipayan Mukherjee signing off with my friend Lavil Saldanha, we will see you soon!
Corey Anderson, San Francisco Unicorns Captain : That was incredible from Krishnamurthi, I am not surprised though. I have seen glimpses of what he can do in the nets, the entire group knew he is able to do something like this. He is only 20 and has a very calm head on his shoulders. We have got great depth to our squad, things happen pretty soon in this competition so we need to prepare for whatever happens. Hassan Khan is a huge player for us, he is a floater for us in the middle order of the batting and with the ball as well, he is someone whom we can rely on during any stage of the innings. You try and take what you can from these games. We have prepared well and we have a couple of day's break now. It will be a cracker when we meet again with the stakes higher.
Steve Smith, Washington Freedom : Yes, I thought we played quite nicely. It looked like a big score and 177 was a reasonable target from our side and I think they batted very well, overall pretty good game of cricket. We look to take on the game from the start and I have enjoyed batting alongside Head. Today, I was the one who got a better start and he decided to play second fiddle till the time I was around. Good question on how we can do things better, a bit early for that. There's plenty to learn, it was a tough time to come and bowl, some good batters out there going hammer and tongs. It did not help that the outfield was a bit damp too for the whole part of our fielding effort. But we look forward to do better in a couple of days' time against the same opposition.
Sanjay Krishnamurthi : Yeah, I want to thank god for the opportunity. I decided to go hard from the beginning because that is what we needed from the outset today. I have looked to develop the mental side of things ever since I have been with this side last year. I think it was dependent on a lot of factors, it was not turning much for the left-arm spinners so it was all about understanding what options would work best for us. The computer science degree is going on well (laughs).
San Francisco Unicorns (177 for 4) defeat Washington Freedom (174 for 3 from 15.3 overs) by 6 wickets (DLS Method)
Washington Freedom are handed their first defeat of the season in their last group game! The fact that it has been the youngsters who have taken them across the line will particularly please Shane Watson and his men!
Jake Fraser-McGurk, on his return to the side, decided to deal in boundaries as his first 3 balls had all gone to the ropes. Among batters to have scored a minimum of 500 T20 runs in 2024, his strike rate of 191 is only bettered by Andre Russell (195) and Abhishek Sharma (197). Allen was dismissed first ball of the chase but Krishnamurthi and JFM ensured they see out the powerplay of 4 overs with no further loss of wickets.
Andrew Tye, playing his first game of the season, knicked JFM to minimise the damage that the young Aussie could have inflicted on the Freedom bowling attack. Smith used 6 bowlers in the first 7 overs which meant that he really rotated his bowling arsenal quite effectively at that stage of the innings because then it did not allow the batters to line up any bowler since everyone was only getting shorter bursts.
Sanjay Krishnamurthi approached a significant landmark - he had not achieved a T20 half-century before today and this will be a special knock for the young man. Josh Inglis also unleashed his wide repertoire of shots as the duo brought about their half century stand in fine style. The attacking Aussie gloveman was on a rampage against the young Jack Edwards who was also playing his first game of the season. 26 runs came from the 9th over and that changed the momentum of the game massively.
There were 6 maximums in a space of 9 balls at a time between the 9th and the 10th over when Unicorns really needed a surge in scoring but Andrew Tye came back again after a bit of a stick from Inglis to eventually have the last laugh against his countryman. Inglis' 45 from 17 balls put his side with a serious chance to actually chase this down. Tye made a double whammy when he also caught and bowled Rutherford in the same over.
Hassan Khan came out and pulled off exactly what the doctor had ordered for his side. He raced to 18 runs from 5 balls, striking boundaries at will and making the equation more and more achievable for his team. Krishnamurthi, after being deprived of the strike for a while, also joined the party by depositing Tye for a six and a four in Tye's 3rd and last over which went for 22 runs as it turned out to be a remarkable chase.
Netravalkar coming into the scene for his last over when the scoreboard read 22 runs needed from 12 balls was met with an unbelievable six over deep third as Krishnamurthi played a knock for the ages. Hassan Khan kept going from the other end as the partnership reached 52 from only 19 balls. The last over saw Unicorns only requiring 3 runs, which was done and dusted without breaking much of a sweat.
Presentations will follow shortly!
13.4 Rachin Ravindra to Sanjay Krishnamurthi, ONE RUN! SAN FRANCISCO WIN! Full toss outside the off stump, Krishnamurthi plays it towards deep midwicket and picks up a single to cap off a tough chase. San Francisco Unicorns beat Washington Freedom by 6 wickets. This is also the first loss for the Freedom in the group stages!
13.3 Rachin Ravindra to Sanjay Krishnamurthi, length delivery on the line of the off stump. Sanjay pushes that one back to the bowler. No run
13.2 Rachin Ravindra to Hassan Khan, SCORES LEVEL! Full from Rachin, Khan hits that one down the ground to long on for a single
13.1 Rachin Ravindra to Sanjay Krishnamurthi, length delivery outside the off stump. Sanjay plays it towards deep point for a single
What a partnership this has been - Freedom can barely believe it. They got a massive score and it is now being knocked off. Never say never in this game and we are only 3 runs away!