MORRISVILLE: Rilee Rossouw’s swashbuckling 78-run knock powered Los Angeles Knight Riders to a stunning two-wicket victory over table-toppers Seattle Orcas in the 12th match of the Major League Cricket (MLC).
Set to chase 171, Rilee Rossouw’s unbeaten 78 sealed a narrow two-wicket victory for the bottom-ranked LA Knight Riders with five balls to spare.
The Knight Riders had a poor start to the pursuit as they were four down for a mere 22 runs inside the batting powerplay before Rossouw turned things around.
The left-handed batter launched an astounding recovery with a brilliant 67-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Andre Russell.
The pair appeared to have settled down before Harmeet Singh got rid of Russell in the 12th over. The all-rounder scored a 29-ball 37 with the help of four boundaries and two sixes.
The Knight Riders once again began to lose wickets at an alarming rate after Russell’s departure but Rossouw stood his ground firm and kept the scoreboard ticking with belligerent hitting.
He put on brief partnerships with Sunil Narine(8), Shadley van Schalkwyk (12) and Adam Zampa (12) before stitching a match-winning 40-run partnership with Spencer Johnson.
Rossouw dominated the match-winning for the eighth wicket, scoring the majority of the runs, in contrast to Johnson, who contributed a mere five.
His quickfire knock muscled the Knight Riders to their maiden victory in MLC. His 38-ball 78 featured three boundaries and seven sixes.
Cameron Gannon took three wickets for the Orcas while Andrew Tye picked two. Harmeet Singh, Wayne Parnell and Imad Wasim took one wicket apiece.
Put into bat first, the Orcas accumulated 170/6 in the allotted 20 overs at the back of a brilliant half-century by Shehan Jayasuriya.
The left-handed batter top-scored for the Orcas with a 45-ball 60, laced up with seven boundaries ad a six.
Opening batter Nauman Anwar (32) and Heinrich Klaasen (25) also made notable contributions with the bat and powered their side to a commendable total.
In another fixture of the MLC, MI New York thumped Washington Freedom to inch closer to sealing a playoff berth.
Chasing 161, Nicholas Pooran’s berserk half-century lifted MI New York to complete the run chase in 15.3 overs, losing just two wickets.
Pooran top-scored for MI New York in the pursuit with an unbeaten 62 off 33 deliveries, laced up with four boundaries and six sixes.
Opening batter Monank Patel also played a pivotal role in his side’s triumph with a 29-ball 44.
Batting first, Washington Freedom piled up 160/6 in their quota of 20 overs with Glenn Phillips leading the charge with a 35-ball 47.
Kieron Pollard led the bowling attack for MI New York with 2/33 while Rashid Khan, David Wiese, Trent Boult and Nosthush Kenjige took one wicket apiece.
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