LA Knight Riders Defeat San Francisco Unicorns

India-West News Desk

GRAND PRAIRIE, TX -The San Francisco Unicorns fell 11 runs short against the Los Angeles Knight Riders in their penultimate Major League Cricket group-stage match, finishing on 173 while chasing 185 at Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium.

Batting first, the Knight Riders posted 184/7 after the Unicorns kept them to 46/1 in the opening six overs. Aaron Hardie gave San Francisco its first breakthrough by dismissing Andre Fletcher for 15.

Colin Munro led the Knight Riders with 52 off 43 balls and shared an 82-run partnership with Matthew Tromp. Matt Short ended the stand by bowling Munro shortly after he reached his half-century, while Ghulam Mudassar dismissed Andre Russell for a quick 40 off 18 balls.

Tromp added 49 off 28 deliveries before becoming Xavier Bartlett’s second wicket. Jahmar Hamilton’s unbeaten 13 off five balls helped Los Angeles finish at 184/7.

Haris Rauf took 3/25 for the Unicorns, while Bartlett finished with 2/24.

San Francisco got off to a poor start in the chase, losing Finn Allen for one in the second over. Lhuan-dre Pretorius scored 18 off 11 balls before Jason Holder dismissed him and Sanjay Krishnamurthi in the fourth over. Aaron Hardie also fell early as the Unicorns slipped to 42/4.

Captain Matt Short and Hassan Khan brought San Francisco back into the match with a 78-run partnership. Hassan scored 45 off 33 balls, including five fours and a six, while Short made 43 off 30.

Lloyd Pope broke the partnership by dismissing Hassan before Ali Khan removed Short in the next over.

Hammad Azam then gave the Unicorns a late chance with 40 off just 19 balls, hitting four fours and two sixes. His innings took San Francisco to within 12 runs of the target going into the final over.

The Unicorns needed 12 runs from the last six balls, but Holder, who finished with 4/40, ended Azam’s resistance following a successful review. Andre Russell then took the final wicket to wrap up the victory for Los Angeles.

Despite the defeat, the Unicorns remain at the top of the MLC standings on net run rate. They will face the Seattle Orcas in their final regular-season match before the Major League Cricket playoffs in Oakland, California.

Brief scores: Los Angeles Knight Riders 184/7 (Colin Munro 52, Matthew Tromp 49; Haris Rauf 3/25) beat San Francisco Unicorns 173 (Hassan Khan 45; Jason Holder 4/40) by 11 runs.