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DALLAS: Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf delivered a fiery spell, claiming four wickets to guide San Francisco Unicorns to a 32-run win over Seattle Orcas in the ongoing Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025 at Grand Prairie Stadium on Wednesday.
Defending 176, the Unicorns bowled out the Orcas for 144 to register their sixth win in as many matches and continue their dominant run at the top of the points table.
Earlier, after being sent in to bat by Orcas skipper Heinrich Klaasen, the Unicorns lost opener Finn Allen (4) early to Gerald Coetzee.
However, Jake Fraser-McGurk and captain Matthew Short steadied the innings with a 64-run stand before Fraser-McGurk was dismissed for 34 off 21.
Short followed soon after, departing for 52 in the 10th over. The middle-order collapse continued as Hassan Khan (1) and Sanjay Krishnamurthi (4) fell in quick succession, leaving the Unicorns reeling at 97-5.
Romario Shepherd then took charge, smashing a vital 56 off 32 balls, including three sixes off Obed McCoy in the final over, to push the total to a competitive 176/8.
Coetzee and Harmeet Singh claimed three wickets each for Seattle, while McCoy and Cameron Gannon picked up one apiece.
In response, Seattle Orcas started brightly with an opening partnership of 66 between Shayan Jahangir and David Warner.
But once Jahangir (40) chopped on to Shepherd and Warner (23) was trapped by Short in the space of two overs, the innings quickly unravelled.
Kyle Mayers departed for a duck, Klaasen managed just 7, and the pressure mounted.
Haris Rauf then took charge, dismissing key batters at regular intervals, including the dangerous Shimron Hetmyer, who struck a quick 30 off 16.
Rauf finished with 4-32, while Short and Shepherd bagged three and two wickets respectively, as the Orcas folded for 144 in 18.2 overs.
San Francisco Unicorns remain unbeaten at the summit of the MLC 2025 standings.
Seattle Orcas, meanwhile, are still searching for their first win of the season and remain rooted to the bottom of the table.
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