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LAUDERHILL: Washington Freedom produced a ruthless all-round display to hammer Seattle Orcas by eight wickets in the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025, giving their playoff hopes a major boost and delivering a heavy blow to a resurgent Orcas unit on Friday.
Washington Freedom’s bowlers were on fire from the first ball after winning the toss and opting to bowl, ripping through a batting lineup that had come in riding high on a three-match winning streak.
Seattle Orcas were bundled out for just 82 in 17.4 overs, a collapse that not only hurt their momentum but also dented their net run rate ahead of the business end of the tournament.
Saurabh Netravalkar struck with the very first delivery of the match, removing Shayan Jahangir, and the carnage only intensified.
Glenn Maxwell picked up three key wickets in the powerplay, including Steven Taylor (1) and Kyle Mayers (1), as the Orcas slumped to 21/5 after six overs.
Netravalkar finished with 3 for 13, while Maxwell returned brilliant figures of 3 for 12 in his four overs.
Jack Edwards also joined the party with a 3-wicket haul, cleaning up the tail and dismissing the dangerous Heinrich Klaasen, who was the only one to show any fight with a gritty 48 off 39 balls.
Chasing a modest 83, Washington never looked under pressure. Even after losing Mitchell Owen (6) early, Rachin Ravindra and Mukhtar Ahmed put together a fluent 42-run stand to keep things steady.
Ravindra made 32 off 23 before falling, but Mukhtar finished the job in style, staying unbeaten on 36 off 21 balls as Freedom wrapped up the chase in just 9.2 overs.
With this win, Washington Freedom jumped to second on the MLC 2025 points table, giving themselves a strong chance of finishing in the top two and earning a playoff advantage.
For the Seattle Orcas, despite the heavy defeat, the earlier three-game winning run keeps them alive in the playoff race as they sit in fourth place after nine games.
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