MLC 2025
SFU have beaten MINY in both their games so far this season. © MLC
“It is a different competition going into the playoffs,” said Nicholas Pooran after his team’s seventh defeat of the season. The inaugural champions have largely endured a crash-and-burn experience through the last four weeks but continue to stay on their feet.
You could attribute that to the wastefulness of two other sides that have finished below them but come Wednesday, all such narratives will be moot. Two of their seven losses in the season have come against the Unicorns but even that skewed match-up will fade into insignificance if Pooran’s men can get one back in a knockout fixture. All that will count is the three-and-a-half hours of cricket under the late evening Dallas skies that will send the two teams in opposite directions.
MI NY might take confidence from the blank slate they’ve got, but within the four walls of the San Francisco Unicorns’ sanctum, the spirits are expected to be sky high too. The sermons there will involve the fact that they’ve won as many games as their opposition in the Eliminator have lost this year (7) and that they’ve taken all four points against them. There is a mini-injury crisis to deal with but such has been the team’s fierce determination all season, that they will be confident of crossing this rusty, flimsy bridge too.
Should rain interfere like it did in the qualifier, Unicorns will qualify for the challenger and MI NY will stand eliminated on the basis of their league stage standings.
When: San Francisco Unicorns vs MI New York, Eliminator, July 9, 07:00 PM Local time (5:30 AM IST on July 10)
Where: Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas
What to expect:Rain and runs? Central Texas is experiencing a disastrous flood situation, which has claimed over 100 lives. Dallas has also felt the tremors of it, with rain having a say in the qualifier. That said, the forecast for the day of the eliminator is clear as of now.
Until the MLC caravan shifted to Florida where bowlers found relief and success, batters enjoyed life in Dallas. SFU chased 198 and posted 246 – against MI NY – in two of their three wins out of four games at this venue. MI NY though, have struggled at this venue, losing all four – two failed chases of 246 and 223 and two defeats after scoring 188 and 237.
Team News:
San Francisco Unicorns:Matthew Short said he will have a ‘new-look team’ for the playoffs, after confirming Romario Shepherd’s injury as well as Haris Rauf’s. The Pakistan pacer missed the previous fixture with a hamstring injury while Shepherd hurt his ankle in that fixture. Adding to their misery is Finn Allen’s foot injury that has ruled him out of the playoffs too and that means Cooper Connolly might get a look.
Probable XI: Matthew Short(c), Tim Seifert (wk), Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cooper Connolly, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Hassan Khan, Hammad Azam, Xavier Bartlett, Karima Gore, Brody Couch, Ben Lister
MI New York: With fourth spot sealed before their last group game, MI NY offered opportunities to players who were on the bench all season while resting the likes of Quinton de Kock, Kieron Pollard, Trent Boult and Ehsan Adil. With all to play for, they should revert to the combinations that earned them the crucial win over LA KR that eventually sealed their qualification.
Probable XI: Quinton de Kock(w), Monank Patel, Nicholas Pooran(c), Tajinder Dhillon, Kieron Pollard, Michael Bracewell, George Linde, Nosthush Kenjige, Trent Boult, Rushil Ugarkar, Ehsan Adil
© Cricbuzz
