MINY vs SFU 2nd Match, MLC 2023

That’s a wrap from our side as well. San Francisco Unicorns started their MLC campaign on a high note. I hope you enjoyed our coverage. For now, this is Deepak Prakash signing off on behalf of my co-commentators Prince Suman and Harsh Shukla, along with scorer/analyst Ashok Dayma, but you don’t go anywhere as it’s a double-header in MLC, and Seattle Orcas will cross swords against Washington Freedom in the second game of the day.

So, switch the tab and join the second game with our commentators Megh Mandaliya and Saipavan Janaki, who will provide you with all the ball-by-ball analysis of the second contest. CHEERS!  

Kieron Pollard (MI New York Captain): "We realized a bit late that we needed to push harder during the timeout. Our strong finish came a little too late in the innings. There was a moment when we had the opposition under pressure. Corey and Shadab displayed smart batting skills. We have identified a few areas to work on, but considering it's our first game, it's acceptable."

Earlier, after opting to bat first, San Francisco Unicorns posted a mammoth 215 runs in 20 overs. SFU got off to the worst possible start as they lost a flurry of wickets at the start and were reeling at 50/4 at the end of 7 overs. Corey Anderson and Shadab Khan started the rescue work, and the duo wreaked havoc with the bat and swatted MI New York bowlers all around the park. The runs were flowing for the Unicorns, and the duo achieved their maiden half-century in the Major Cricket League on the occasion. The dynamic duo added 129 runs for the 5th wicket before Shadab departed for a quick 61 runs off 30 balls. Anderson remained unbeaten on 91 runs and helped his side post a mammoth 215 runs at the end of 20 overs. Boult and Rabada bagged a couple of wickets for MI New York. 

In pursuit of the Unicorns’s 215 runs, MI got off to a shaky start as they lost Steven Taylor and Monank Patel for 0 and 8 runs, respectively, and were reeling at 13/2 in the third over. Dewald Brevis and Nicholas Pooran tried to steady the ship, and the duo added some quick runs, but their progress was abruptly halted by Shadab Khan, who dismissed Brevis for 32 runs. Pooran entertained everyone with a few gigantic sixes, but the southpaw failed to carry his momentum and departed after scoring 40 runs, leaving his side in a dire situation. 

Kieron Pollard paired up with Tim David and tried to score at a brisk pace. Pollard smashed a few boundaries but failed to bat till the end and fell 2 runs short of his half-century. David played an electrifying innings at the cue end of the innings and reached his half-century but it was too late by then as MI New York fell 22 runs short of their target. 

On the bowling front, Carmi le Roux and Liam Plunkett bagged a couple of wickets for San Francisco Unicorns, while Shadab Khan bagged a solitary wicket. Stay tuned for the post-match presentation.