MLC 2025
Bartlett held his nerve in the final over © MLC
San Francisco Unicorns returned to winning ways and strengthened top-two hopes with a thrilling one-run victory over Texas Super Kings in Lauderhill, successfully defending 148 in a game that swung back and forth right until the final delivery.
Matthew Short anchored the Unicorns’ innings with a gutsy 80 off 63 balls, dragging the side from 25/3 in the powerplay to a competitive 148/6, also thanks to Hassan Khan who struck a vital 40 off 25 balls. Akeal Hosein was the pick of the bowlers early on for Super Kings, but the other spinners struggled to maintain control as Short found ways to keep the scoreboard moving on a sticky surface.
Super Kings never got going at the start of their chase, losing both openers early to Brody Couch. Marcus Stoinis and Saiteja Mukkamalla steadied the innings briefly but the run-rate continued to creep up. The turning point came when Donovan Ferreira walked to the crease after Mukkamalla’s dismissal and struck 39 off 20 that kept Super Kings alive and brought the equation down to 23 off the last 12 balls. Romario Shepherd then struck twice in the 19th over to remove both Ferreira and Shubham Ranjane in quick succession.
With 13 needed off the final over, Mohammad Mohsin managed two boundaries to keep Texas in the hunt but Xavier Bartlett held his nerve and used the angles well. It came down to three runs needed off the last ball and in a desperate bid for a second run, Calvin Savage was run out at the keeper’s end.
Brief Scores: San Francisco Unicorns 148/6 (Short 80; Stoinis 3-32) beat Texas Super Kings 147/7 (Ferreira 39; Couch 2-26, Shepherd 2-26) by 1 run
© Cricbuzz
