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San Francisco Unicorns secured a convincing 6-wicket victory over Seattle Orcas in the 18th match of the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2024. Chasing a modest target of 153 runs, the Unicorns displayed exceptional batting prowess to seal the win with 5.4 overs to spare.
With this win, the Unicorns have booked a place into the playoffs, while the Orcas are now officially out of the tournament.
Seattle Orcas falter despite Quinton de Kock’s blitz
Opting to bat first after losing the toss, the Orcas struggled to build partnerships. No. 3 Quinton de Kock was the lone bright spot, scoring a well-compiled 62 runs off just 33 balls, including 8 fours and 3 sixes. However, the rest of the batting lineup faltered, with only Shehan Jayasuriya (31 off 33) managing to cross the 30-run mark.
Veteran fast bowler Pat Cummins was expensive for the Unicorns, conceding 45 runs in his four overs, but the disciplined bowling attack, led by Carmi le Roux (3/14) and Hassan Khan (3/5), restricted the Orcas to a total of 152/7 in their 20 overs.
Also WATCH: Pat Cummins and Corey Anderson star in the comedy of errors on the pitch in MLC 2024
Finn Allen powers San Francisco Unicorns to victory
In reply, the Unicorns got off to a flying start thanks to a blistering opening partnership between Finn Allen and Matthew Short. Allen, the eventual Player of the Match, smashed a belligerent 77 runs off just 30 balls, peppering the boundaries with 8 fours and 6 towering sixes. While wickets fell at regular intervals after Allen’s departure, contributions from Josh Inglis (24 not out) and Sherfane Rutherford (17 off 8) ensured the Unicorns chased down the target comfortably in 14.2 overs, losing only 4 wickets.
“Yeah, I think the way Camie (le Roux) bowled at the top, we asked him to swing at the top, “ POTM Finn Allen said in the post-match presentation.
“I want to try and be aggressive at the top, put the bowlers under pressure.
“I went a tad too hard today, but it did help us to kill the game. The conditions were a bit balanced for both batters and bowlers.”
On the Unicorns finishing among the top 2, he said: “We’ll get an extra life… have [to compete against] Washington on Monday to finish the league games off.”
