SAN FRANCISCO UNICORNS DEFEAT MI NEW YORK TO CONTINUE WINNING RUN
San Francisco Unicorns, 246-4 (M Short, 91; J Fraser-McGurk, 64) beat MI New York, 199/6 (Q de Kock, 70; M Patel, 60) by 47 runs
The San Francisco Unicorns confirmed their position at the top of the 2025 Cognizant Major League Cricket (MLC) table at the half way point, comfortably beating MI New York who came up short in a challenging chase at the Grand Prairie Stadium.
Tasked with batting first by MI New York captain Nicholas Pooran, Unicorns’ captain Matt Short and Tim Seifert laid a strong foundation in the powerplay, running smartly and dispatching the bowling attack for regular boundaries to leave the league leaders on 63 without loss.
The seventh over saw Short notch up his half century off 22 balls with New York then making the first breakthrough two overs later, with Noshtush Kenjige snaring Seifert, caught on the boundary for 26 by Pooran. Jake Fraser-McGurk came to the crease and immediately made his mark, hitting Michael Bracewell for 26 runs to leave the Unicorns on 117/1 at the half way stage.
Kieron Pollard joined the pace attack in the fourteenth over, mixing in a number of challenging slower balls which soon paid off as he had Short caught at long on, just short of his century on 91 from 43 balls; his second consecutive 50+ haul. Sanjay Krishnamurthi watched on as Fraser-McGurk kept up the rate, bringing his 50 up off Sunny Patel in the fifteenth, before he miscued another pace-off delivery by Pollard in the next, ending on 64 from 26 balls.
Romario Shepherd came and went for two, before Hassan Khan (30*) traded singles with Krishnamurthi (27*) while plundering the occasional six to maintain the Unicorns’ momentum and take the total over 200 at the start of Naveen-ul-Haq’s seventeenth over, before the pair picked up the pace with 24 off the penultimate over and 14 off the last to end the innings on an imposing total of 246-4.
Following New York’s lead, the Unicorns started the innings with spin as Hassan Khan took the new ball against Quinton de Kock and Monank Patel, with Xavier Bartlett, Brody Couch, Haris Rauf, and Liam Plunkett rotated throughout the powerplay but failing to find a breakthrough, leaving the chasing side well placed on 76 for no loss.
Shepherd took his first over in Unicorns’ colors in the seventh, going for 13, before Monank Patel brought up his fifty in the next against Matt Short. Liam Plunkett returned in the tenth, drawing Patel, 60 off 33, into a swipe which was calmly taken under the lights by substitute fielder Cooper Connolly at short third man, leaving MI New York on 122/1 at the innings mid-point.
Opener de Kock claimed his half century against the bowling of Shepherd in the twelfth, but the run rate started to ominously build as the Unicorns wrestled back control by cutting off boundary access through the middle overs. Now needing 88 off the last 30 balls, Rauf then had Pooran caught behind for 16, finding a faint edge that was given after Seifert encouraged a successful DRS challenge.
Bowled playing on, Shepherd took the prize wicket of de Kock (70) and then Michael Bracewell for a duck in consecutive balls, leaving an unrealistic chase further hampered when Tajinder Singh holed out for one. Kieron Pollard put on a show late on, damaging Rauf’s figures, but the game was already gone, with Bartlett demonstrating some fine death bowling in the last, going for three runs, while picking up the wicket of Heath Richards to confirm the win by 47 runs.
San Francisco Unicorns winning streak extends to five games, cementing their position at the top of the MLC table with a healthy net run rate. MI New York stay fourth, level on points with LA Knight Riders who have a game in hand. The Unicorns next play on Wednesday against the Seattle Orcas.
