Records tumble In San Francisco Unicorns Win Against Washington Freedom

India-West News Desk

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The San Francisco Unicorns put on a spectacular show for their home fans in an impressive run chase against the Washington Freedom on June 28, highlighted by Lhuan-dre Pretorius matching the league record for the fastest fifty.

Fielding first, the Unicorns missed an early opportunity on the very first ball when Brody Couch dropped a difficult chance from Mitchell Owen. Owen capitalized on the reprieve, plundering 17 runs from Xavier Bartlett’s opening over. Two additional catches were put down in Ghulam Mudassar’s subsequent over, but Haris Rauf soon made the initial breakthrough by bowling Freedom captain Steve Smith.

Andries Gous provided solid support as Owen pushed Washington to 52 for the loss of one wicket at the close of the powerplay. Mudassar then claimed the crucial wicket of Owen for 39, who toe-ended a delivery to Finn Allen on the boundary. Incoming batsman Jack Edwards added 17 runs before miscuing a delivery from Matt Short into the hands of Bartlett, bringing Nikhil Chaudhary to the crease.

The Unicorns managed to stem the flow of runs through the middle overs until Gous smashed three boundaries from Khan’s second set. Chaudhary followed with two sixes in Rauf’s next over as the Freedom built toward what appeared to be a commanding total.

Couch eventually broke the 59-run partnership by removing Chaudhary for 32. Obus Pienaar then joined Gous, who had passed his half-century an over prior. Together, the pair guided Washington Freedom to a total of 190 for 4, setting the Unicorns a target of 191 to secure their third victory of the 2026 Major League Cricket season.

The San Francisco Unicorns flew out of the gates in response. Pretorius continued his exceptional form by blasting a half-century off just 16 balls, tying the record for the fastest fifty in league history. Allen was equally destructive at the other end, helping the home side race past the hundred-mark in the sixth over before falling to Marco Jansen for a rapid 45 off 18 balls.

Matt Short joined the chase as the Unicorns established an all-time highest powerplay score in league history, finishing the initial phase with 103 runs on the board. Chaudhary’s change of pace eventually undid Pretorius, who departed for 66—his fourth half-century of the season—after being caught by Owen.

Aaron Hardie then came to the crease, scoring an unbeaten 42 and taking the Unicorns past 150 with consecutive boundaries off Lockie Ferguson. Hardie and Short then took 14 runs off Jansen’s 14th over. Short, the Unicorns’ captain, finished unbeaten on 34, sealing the eight-wicket victory with a boundary with 29 balls remaining. The win propels San Francisco to the top of the league table on net run rate.

Major League Cricket now shifts to Los Angeles for its next leg of matches, where the San Francisco Unicorns will play a repeat fixture against the Washington Freedom on July 4.

Match Summary: San Francisco Unicorns 193/2 (L. Pretorius 66, F. Allen 45) beat Washington Freedom 190/4 (A. Gous 83 not out, M. Owen 39) by 8 wickets.