Win Projections to be updated soon
In the last over, Pat Cummins remained composed to secure the victory for the San Francisco Unicorns over the Texas Super Kings. This means that the MLC Championship match between the two teams will take place on July 28. The main event was Finn Allen’s 101, which was bolstered by useful contributions from Juanoy Drysdale (2-33) and the ever-impressive Hassan Khan (27 off 15 and 1-25) to seal the 10-run win.
Finn Allen, who was put to bat, struck two boundaries in the opening over of play. He kept up his aggressive play, hitting three boundaries off Marcus Stoinis in the second over, one of which came after Noor Ahmad had dropped a chance.
During the Powerplay, Allen reached the boundary in each over until Jake Fraser McGurk got a chance to extend his long levers and pull Ottneil Baartman for six in the sixth over. In the Powerplay, the Unicorns had sprinted to 66 for a perfect score.
With a four to bring up his fifty, Allen defeated Aaron Hardie. Noor (3 for 27) halted the opening partnership of 79 runs when McGurk toe-ended a flung up delivery that found its way to Hardie’s safe palms at long off. Sanjay Krishnamurthi didn’t cause any problems for the scorers as he was removed just two balls when he sliced one off Noor onto the stumps. Allen regained control after TSK managed to sneak in a few calm overs thanks to the quick wickets.
Allen hit two lofty full tosses from Zia-ul-Haq for sixes during an expensive 11th over that cost 16 runs. In another 16-run over, Allen paddle-swept Stoinis and then sliced him for four runs, delivering the same fate as before. Josh Inglis struck Mohammad Mohsin with two sixes, and Allen reached his century in the process. After that, Mohsin castled Allen, who was removed from the game.
Rutherford was dismissed by Noor as he maintained his brilliant run of form. Hassan Khan and Inglis shared a dangerous 34-run partnership until the latter holed out to long off. TSK performed admirably to recover from a situation where 220 was predicted, but Unicorns ultimately concluded at 200 for 6.
TSK, in response, immediately attacked the bowlers. Their intentions were made clear early on when Devon Conway flipped Pat Cummins for six and Faf du Plessis blasted Carmi le Roux through mid-wicket. After that, Du Plessis increased the pressure on le Roux by hitting three boundaries in the third over. The South African was dropped twice in two balls, so he rode his luck. The first opportunity went begging for four as Juanoy Drysdale missed a sitter off a scoop, and Allen let it slide through his fingers. In a 19-run over, there were a six and a four.
Finally, Le Roux removed du Plessis when Corey Anderson made an incredible grab. After his captain’s departure, Hardie carried on with two more boundaries in the fifteen-run over. As the powerplay came to a close, TSK had accelerated to 77 for 1.
Drysdale ended a potentially dangerous combination when he removed Hardie, who sliced a ball that was back of a length to cover. Milind Kumar attempted to use additional cover to play Hassan inside out, but all he could do was find long-off. After 10 overs, with TSK down to 91 for 4, and Unicorns rallying, Stoinis hit a short ball straight to Hassan off Drysdale.
For thirty-three balls, there were no bundaries until Conway hit Drysdale for a six in the twelfth over. Joshua Tromp was bowled over by Haris Rauf, who spilt the ball after Tromp got both hands on it. With a six over long-off and 10 off the over, Tromp made him pay. Tromp struck a four and a six over covers in the sixteenth over, needing 64 of the final five. Conway faced Rauf in the seventeenth over, hitting a couple of boundaries and reaching his fifty in the process.
Also Read: Watch: Corey Anderson’s gravity-defying one-handed stunner that sends Faf du Plessis packing
As Tromp took the lead against Rauf in the 19th over, he reached his fifty. With 18 remaining in the last over, Cummins slowed down and changed the length of his balls to keep the hitters off balance. He only gave up seven runs and led the Unicorns to the MLC 2024 championship game.
India
