Matthew Short’s unbeaten run of 121 fell short as the Washington Freedom beat the San Francisco Unicorns to book the final spot in the MLC | Cricket News
The Washington Freedom held their nerve in the last few overs to defeat the San Francisco Unicorns by seven runs in Eliminator 2 of the Major League Cricket (MLC) on Friday, setting up a final against the LA Knight Riders on Sunday (IST).Defending 238, the Freedom looked under pressure when captained by San Francisco Matthew Short made an unbeaten 121 off 56 balls, but Saurabh Netravalkar and Mitchell Owen closed out the match with disciplined final overs to deny the Unicorns a place in the title race.Freedom chose to go first and took advantage of a strong start from their top order.Mitchell Owen scored 42 off 19 balls, while captain Steven Smith added 43 off 20 as the top pair took the side to 83/1 in the Powerplay. Andries Gous then anchored the innings with 73 off 40 deliveries, hitting eight fours and three sixes.Rachin Ravindra scored 28 off just 14 balls as Freedom finished on 238/6 from their 20 overs.Xavier Bartlett was the pick of the bowlers for the Unicorns, taking 3 for 38 in his four overs.San Francisco’s chase got off to a bad start as both openers fell early. Lhuan-dre Pretorius made 18 off 10 balls before departing, while Finn Allen made 14 off nine.Short left the innings haul almost to himself. The captain hit 11 fours and eight sixes during his unbeaten 121, keeping the required rate within reach despite wickets falling regularly at the other end.Bartlett also contributed with the bat, making 28 off 13 balls, and with two overs left the Unicorns needed just 29 runs with Short well set.Freedom, however, returned to the game in the closing stages.Netravalkar bowled a crucial 19th over, conceding just seven runs and leaving San Francisco needing 22 from the end.Owen, who leaked 28 runs in his first over early in the innings, rose to the occasion when it mattered most. He gave away just 14 runs in the last over to seal a seven-run victory and send Freedom to the final.Another painful exit for the Unicorns, who also lost by a narrow margin in the Qualifier despite finishing top of the league table. Their second chance to reach the final was lost as the Freedom completed a successful defense in their entirety to book a meeting with the LA Knight Riders in the championship match.
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