Washington Freedom clinch 7-wicket victory over San Francisco Unicorns to reach 2024 Cognizant Major League Cricket Final

The Washington Freedom registered a dominant 7-wicket win over the San Francisco Unicorns in the Cognizant Major League Cricket 2024 Qualifier at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Thursday.

Match Summary

Washington Freedom vs San Francisco Unicorns, Qualifier 1

Washington Freedom 149/3 (15.3 ov)

San Francisco Unicorns 145/10 (19.0 ov)

Washington Freedom won by 7 wickets

SCORECARD  

 

Match Analysis

Rachin Ravindra's 4/11 helped the Washington Freedom bowl out San Francisco Unicorns for 145 before chasing down their target in 16 overs, thanks to unbeaten knocks from Travis Head (77* off 44) and Glenn Maxwell (54* off 23).

With this victory, the Washington Freedom became the first team to reach the final of the Cognizant Major League Cricket 2024. The San Francisco Unicorns will now face the Texas Super Kings in the Challenger for a place in the summit clash.

After a challenging innings with the bat, Pat Cummins got the San Francisco Unicorns off to a great start with the ball. He removed Steve Smith (1 off 3) in the second over and bowled a maiden in the fourth over. However, Carmi le Roux was unable to provide the necessary support as Travis Head batted aggressively for Washington Freedom. Head scored 31 runs off le Roux's two overs and added another 13 runs off Haris Rauf to end the Powerplay at 52/1.

Andries Gous (9 off 14) lost his wicket cheaply to Hassan Khan in the seventh over, and Rachin Ravindra followed in the ninth over after scoring just 3 off 9, leaving Washington at 64/3.

Head brought up his fifth consecutive fifty in 28 balls during the 10th over. He, along with Glenn Maxwell, accelerated the run chase as Washington crossed the 100-run mark in the 13th over. They both kept finding timely boundaries and eventually took the Washington Freedom over the line in 16 overs.

Earlier in the day, the San Francisco Unicorns had a terrible start after being invited to bat first. They lost four wickets even before reaching the 50-run mark.

Marco Jansen struck twice, removing Finn Allen (6 off 4) in the very first over and dismissing Josh Inglis (8 off 7) in the sixth over. Meanwhile, Saurabh Netravalkar took the wicket of Jake Fraser-McGurk (11 off 11) in the fourth over, while Rachin Ravindra trapped Sanjay Krishnamurthi (19 off 19) LBW in the seventh over, leaving the Unicorns at 49/4 after seven overs.

Sherfane Rutherford (6 off 9) soon followed them back to the pavilion, but Hassan Khan and Corey Anderson tried to steady the ship, adding a crucial 61 runs off 35 balls. However, Anderson was dismissed on the last ball of the 16th over by Jansen after scoring 26 off 19, leaving the Unicorns at 127/6.

Khan, on the other hand, reached his half-century in 34 balls in the 19th over, but Ravindra, who took two wickets in the 18th over, dismissed him on the first ball of the last over. Khan played a vital knock of 57 off 36 balls, taking Unicorns to a respectable total of 145.

Match Stats

 San Francisco Unicorns Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Finn Allen - 0.3 ov), 2-35 (Jake Fraser McGurk - 3.5 ov), 3-49 (Josh Inglis - 5.6 ov), 4-49 (Sanjay Krishnamurthi - 6.3 ov), 5-66 (Sherfane Rutherford - 10.1 ov), 6-127 (Corey Anderson - 15.6 ov), 7-132 (Pat Cummins - 16.5 ov), 8-135 (Haris Rauf - 17.3 ov), 9-135 (Carmi le Roux - 17.5 ov), 10-145 (Hassan Khan - 19.1 ov)

Washington Freedom Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Steven Smith - 1.1 ov), 2-53 (Andries Gous - 6.4 ov), 3-64 (Rachin Ravindra - 8.5 ov)

Playing XI

Washington Freedom 

• Travis Head
• Steven Smith(C)
• Andries Gous(WK)
• Rachin Ravindra
• Glenn Maxwell
• Mukhtar Ahmed
• Obus Pienaar
• Marco Jansen
• Saurabh Netravalkar
• Ian Holland
• Lockie Ferguson

San Francisco Unicornsv

• Finn Allen
• Jake Fraser McGurk
• Sanjay Krishnamurthi
• Josh Inglis(WK)
• Sherfane Rutherford
• Corey Anderson(C)
• Hassan Khan
• Pat Cummins
• Haris Rauf
• Carmi le Roux
• Juanoy Drysdale

 

Match Details:

Date: Friday, July 26, 2024 01:30

Venue: Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas

Toss: Washington Freedom elected to bowl