Smith-Pooran showdown: Record breaking MLC game creates unique T20 history with … | Cricket News

Three batters scored centuries in the same men’s T20 match for the first time as the Washington Freedom completed the longest successful run in T20 history, beating defending champion MI New York by six wickets in Eliminator 1 of the MLC 2026 at the Oakland Coliseum on Tuesday.Nicholas Pooran, Andries Gous and Steven Smith all reached three figures in a game rewriting several T20 records. While Pooran hit a 31-ball hundred — the fastest century in Major League Cricket history — Gous and Smith responded with 40-ball hundreds each as the Freedom chased down 267 to seal a place in Eliminator 2, where they will face the San Francisco Unicorns. The winner will meet the LA Knight Riders in the MLC 2026 final.For most of the night, MI New York looked set to win after Pooran and Kieron Pollard dominated the Freedom attack. Pollard also crossed 1,000 sixes in T20 cricket during his 25-ball 64, while Pooran destroyed the bowling to keep his side in control.The game, however, turned after Rachin Ravindra’s spell with the ball. Introduced when MI New York were 211 for 3 after 13 overs, Ravindra returned figures of 4 for 28 despite bowling only the 14th, 16th, 18th and 20th overs. His wickets slowed down the scoring as MI New York finished at 266 for 9 instead of posting a bigger total.Washington Freedom’s chase got off to a poor start as Shakib Al Hasan struck twice with the new ball in his first two overs, reducing it to 10 for 2. From there, Gous and Smith took control.The pair matched each other shot for shot, adding 241 runs for the third wicket in just 89 balls, the joint second-highest partnership for any wicket in men’s T20 cricket. Both reached their centuries in 40 balls.Independence finally completed the chase of 267, the highest successful run chase in T20 history, surpassing Punjab Kings’ chase of 265 against Delhi Capitals in the IPL earlier this year.The match also became the first men’s T20 match with three individual centuries. Gous and Smith’s hundreds in the chase made it only the second time two batsmen scored centuries while chasing in a T20 match. Pooran and Smith also became the fourth pair of captains to score hundreds in the same men’s T20 match.