Steve Smith's 88, bowlers' flawless performance leads Washington Freedom to 96-run win over San Francisco Unicorns to claim MLC 2024 title

The Major League Cricket (MLC) 2024 turned out to be a one-sided affair as Washington Freedom beat San Francisco Unicorns by a massive margin of 96 runs at Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas. Steve Smith starred with a 52-ball 88 and got help from Glenn Maxwell's 22-ball 40 as Washington Freedom posted a total of 207/5. In reply, San Francisco Unicorns suffered a batting collapse as they lacked experience and were bowled out for 111 in 16 overs.
 

Smith, Maxwell shine

Earlier, Corey Anderson won the toss and opted to bowl first. Travis Head hit a couple of boundaries in the first over and got a reprieve as Haris Rauf dropped the catch at third man. Pat Cummins got the early breakthrough with Head's wicket. Andries Gous did damage in the powerplay overs before losing his wicket to Hassan Khan in the sixth over. Smith broke free in the ninth over hitting Carmi le Roux for two sixes. At the halfway stage, Washington Freedom were 86/2. Haris Rauf was brought back into the attack and he knocked over Rachin Ravindra. In the same over, Smith hit a six and then reached his fifty from 34 balls.

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In the 13th over, Juanoy Drysdale took a beating as he conceded 28 runs. Smith hit hm for two sixes and a four whereas Maxwell smashed it over the ropes on a free hit. As the slog overs approached, Washington Freedom accelerated. Smith was moving closer to his hundred but Pat Cummins got rid of him with a slower short ball. His 52-ball 88 was laced with seven fours and a six. In the same over, Maxwell did not let the tempo show down and hit a six. Drysdale came back well and got Maxwell's wicket. He hit four sixes and a four in his 22-ball 40. In the penultimate over, Haris Rauf went for plenty. Mukhtar Ahmed smashed him for a massive six. In the final over, Cummins conceded nine runs as Washington Freedom posted 207/5.

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Unicorns collapse

In the run chase, centurion of Challenger clash, Finn Allen got off the mark with two consecutive fours. His catch was dropped in second over at backward point. Jansen in the second over knocked over Jake Fraser-McGurk. In Saurabh Netravalkar's second over, Sanjay Krishnamurthi fell cheaply. Allen failed to make a mark as well and fell to Jansen in the fifth over. After powerplay overs, Unicorns were 40/3. In the eighth over, Josh Inglis got a reprieve as his catch was dropped. Meanwhile, Sherfane Rutherford struggled to score and became Maxwell's first victim. 
 

Andrew Tye in his second over struck twice to dismiss Inglis and skipper Anderson. Unicorns were 53/6 in the ninth over. Cummins entertained the crowd with two sixes off Ravindra and then got out lbw in an attempt to reverse-sweep. The lower order batter could not do much as Ravindra took two more wickets and Jansen dismissed Hassan Khan. San Franscisco Unicorns were bowled out for 111 with four overs left in the innings.
 

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