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OAKLAND: Haris Rauf’s fiery spell and Xavier Bartlett’s unbeaten blitz powered San Francisco Unicorns to a thrilling three-wicket win over MI New York in the sixth match of Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025, held at the Oakland Coliseum on Sunday.
Chasing 183 for victory, the Unicorns found themselves in trouble at 42-4 inside the Powerplay.
However, a counter-attacking 64-run stand between Tim Seifert and Hassan Khan brought them back into the contest.
The drama wasn’t over, though, as both set batters departed in quick succession, leaving the chase hanging at 108-6.
Xavier Bartlett then turned the game on its head with a breathtaking unbeaten knock of 59 off just 25 balls, laced with five towering sixes and four boundaries, as the Unicorns crossed the line with five balls to spare, clinching their third win on the trot in MLC 2025.
Earlier, MI New York posted 182-7 after being put into bat by Unicorns’ skipper Corey Anderson.
Quinton de Kock set the tone with a fluent 63 off 38 balls, smashing five fours and four sixes. But with little support from the other end, his dismissal at 102 slowed down the momentum.
Kieron Pollard chipped in with 30, while Sunny Patel’s unbeaten 20 at the end gave MI New York a fighting total.
Haris Rauf, continuing his sublime form, picked up 2-25, while Hassan Khan and Carmi le Roux also grabbed two wickets apiece.
In the earlier fixture on the same day, Texas Super Kings outclassed Los Angeles Knight Riders by 57 runs to notch up their second victory in the MLC 2025.
Batting first, the Super Kings posted 181-4 with Daryl Mitchell anchoring the innings with an unbeaten 36 off 33, and Donovan Ferreira providing the late flourish with 32 not out from just 16 deliveries.
The Knight Riders crumbled in response, bowled out for 124 in 17.1 overs, as Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmed spun a web with figures of 4-25. Adam Milne and Stephen Wiig chipped in with two wickets each to seal a comprehensive win.
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