Trent Boult returned splendid figures of 4/24 and steered MI New York to a comfortable six-wicket victory over Texas Super Kings to book their spot in the Major League Cricket (MLC) final.
In the second qualifier of the inaugural edition of the MLC, MI New York stunned Super Kings to book their final clash with table-toppers Seattle Orcas.
Set to chase 159, MI New York comfortably accumulated 162 for the loss of four wickets and six balls to spare with Dewald Brevis leading the charge.
MI New York had a flying start to the pursuit but lost two wickets — Slade van Staden (6) and Shayan Jahangir (36) — inside the powerplay.
Skipper Nicholas Pooran then anchored the run chase with a cautious 30-run partnership for the third wicket with Brevis before Daniel Sams dismissed the former, who could score 20 off 23.
With Pooran’s dismissal, MI New York slipped to 74/3 in the 11th over, needing 85 runs in 56 deliveries.
Meanwhile, hard-hitting batter Tim David joined hands with Brevis and turned the game on its head with belligerent hitting.
The pair added 50 runs for the fourth wicket in just 30 deliveries before David perished. He scored a quickfire 33 from 20 balls, hitting four sixes.
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Brevis, on the other hand, stood his ground firm and steered MI New York to victory with an unbeaten 41. He received significant support at the backend from David Wiese, who played a vital 19-run cameo from 11 balls.
Dewald Brevis top-scored for MI New York in the run chase. He faced 33 deliveries and smashed one boundary and two sixes.
Put into bat first, the Super Kings were jolted by a fiery spell from Trent Boult and could score 158 in 20 overs.
Opening batter Devon Conway (38) and Milind Kumar (37) made vital contributions while the rest failed in the important MLC fixture.
Notably, seven Super Kings batters failed to make it into the double digits.
Boult led the bowling attack for MI New York with 4/24, followed by Tim David picking two wickets.
Following a convincing victory in the Qualifier 2, MI New York will now take on Seattle Orcas in the final of the inaugural MLC on Sunday.