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DALLAS: Shimron Hetmyer 64* and Aaron Jones’ gutsy 73 powered Seattle Orcas to a thrilling five-wicket victory over the Los Angeles Knight Riders in the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025 at Grand Prairie Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing a daunting 203-run target, Seattle Orcas hit the winning runs on the last ball of the penultimate over with five wickets in hand.
The winning team required five from the last over; however, Shadley van Schalkwyk gave only two in the first four balls, making the match tense.
Nonetheless, it was Shimron Hetmyer again who hit the winning runs with a maximum of the last ball.
In pursuit of the target, opener Josh Brown was sent packing for a golden duck on the very second ball of the first over. But, Shayan Jahangir and incoming batter Aaron Jones steadied Orcas’ ship with a mammoth 119-run partnership in just 11 overs.
Just when Orcas were cruising, Jones was caught after scoring an explosive 73 off 38 balls, peppered with 10 boundaries and two maximums.
The Knight Riders made a roaring comeback in the match with successive wickets in the 12th over, reducing Seattle Orcas to 127-4.
Shayan, who scored 43 off 31 deliveries with the help of three sixes and two fours, was the first to go, while explosive batter Henrich Klaasen could only manage to score five.
Despite the wickets tumbling in a heap, Shimron Hetmyer kept his nerve and took his team home in another scintillating innings. The south paw unbeaten knock featured four boundaries and half a dozen towering maximums.
For the Los Angeles Knight Riders, Tanveer Sangha and Jason Holder picked up two wickets each.
Earlier, after being put into bat, the Los Angeles Knight Riders posted 202-4 in their allocated 20 overs.
Knight Riders scored a mammoth total despite losing 48-3 in 7.4 overs, with Andre Russell and Saif Badar scoring the bulk of runs in an 81-run stand.
Russell smashed 65 off 39 deliveries, an innings laced with four sixes, while Badar’s brisk 41-run knock featured two fours and an equal number of sixes.
With Knight Riders 129-4 in 14.3 overs, Rovman Powell partnered with Russell in a blazing stand. Powell smashed four sixes and two boundaries in his 43-run knock.
In another match, Washington Freedom secured a 12-run win over table toppers San Francisco Unicorns, thanks to a fiery five-wicket haul from Mitchell Owen.
Chasing a challenging 170-run target, Unicorns crumbled under pressure and could only manage to score 157-9 in their 20 overs.
For Washington, Freed Glenn Phillips starred with the bat, scoring 58 off 39 balls, while Mitchell Owen shone with the ball, taking five for 17 in three overs.
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