San Francisco Unicorns Hand Washington Freedom First Season Loss in Rain-Shortened Thriller

Sanjay Krishnamurthi and Josh Inglis led the San Francisco Unicorns to a six-wicket victory over Washington Freedom in a rain-affected match. Both teams end the league stage with 11 points but Washington tops due to better Net Run Rate. The teams will meet again in the qualifiers.

In a rain-affected thriller at Grand Prairie Stadium, the San Francisco Unicorns, powered by Sanjay Krishnamurthi's unbeaten 79 off 42 balls and Josh Inglis' rapid 45 off 17, handed the Washington Freedom their first loss of the season in the penultimate league stage match of the Cognizant Major League Cricket 2024 on Monday.

Despite Steve Smith and Travis Head each scoring half-centuries to guide Washington Freedom to 174/3 in 15.3 overs, the Unicorns managed their run-chase flawlessly, securing a six-wicket victory via the DLS method. Both teams ended the league stage with 11 points from seven matches, with Washington Freedom finishing on top due to a superior Net Run Rate.

With the game reduced to 14 overs due to rain, San Francisco Unicorns were given a DLS-adjusted target of 177 runs to win. Following an early setback, Jake Fraser-McGurk and Sanjay Krishnamurthi scored 42 runs in the Powerplay. Despite Fraser-McGurk's dismissal, Krishnamurthi and Josh Inglis kept the momentum going. Inglis smashed three consecutive sixes off Jack Edwards in the ninth over, but was soon dismissed by Andrew Tye. Krishnamurthi, along with Hassan Khan, guided the Unicorns to victory with two balls to spare.

Earlier, Steve Smith and Travis Head gave Washington Freedom a strong start, amassing 70 runs in the Powerplay. Smith was dismissed on 56 off 31 balls, while Head scored 56 off 36. Despite a quick cameo from Rachin Ravindra and timely boundaries by Andries Gous, rain halted play with Washington at 174/3. San Francisco Unicorns and Washington Freedom will next face each other in the qualifiers on July 25.

Brief Scores: San Francisco Unicorns 177/4 (Sanjay Krishnamurthi 79* off 42, Josh Inglis 45 off 17, Andrew Tye 3/41) beat Washington Freedom 174/3-15.3 overs (Steve Smith 56 off 31, Travis Head 56 off 36, Corey Anderson 2/20) by six wickets (DLS Method). (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)