UNICORNS FALTER IN FIRST MATCH BACK AT COLISEUM
San Francisco Unicorns, 139 all out (M Short, 28; A de Silva, 28/4) lost to Texas Super Kings, 161/8 (D Ferreira, 45; G Mudassar, 30/2) by 22 runs
The San Francisco Unicorns came unstuck chasing Texas Super Kings at the Oakland Coliseum in what was a night of fielding excellence but little fluency with the bat.
Playing in front of their home fans for the first time in MLC 2026, Unicorns’ captain Matt Short won the toss, opting to field with unknown wicket conditions at play against a side they chased down comfortably last time out in Texas.
Ghulam Mudassar opened well with the new ball against Super Kings’ captain Faf du Plessis and Saiteja Mukkamalla, restricting the pair to just three runs. Haris Rauf kept up the pressure from the other end, before the South African captain bookended Ghulam’s second over with sixes to kickstart their innings.
Brody Couch went for 12 in his first before the Unicorns’ leading wicket taker Peter Siddle and Hassan Khan restricted the flow at the end of the powerplay, which the Texas side finished on 48 without loss.
The partnership was broken just as du Plessis looked to have his eye in against Khan, going six, four, and then caught (40) by a fine diving Finn Allen catch on the boundary rope. Captain Matt Short matched that with his own acrobatic caught and bowled of new man Rilee Rossouw for a duck next over.
Short showed his athleticism again soon after, trapping, recovering, and cleanly throwing down one stump to send Milind Kumar (8) back to the dugout. Ghulam returned for his second spell to take the prize wicket of the set Mukkamulla (36), leaving Shubham Ranjane and Wiaan Mulder as the fresh pair in the middle.
The partnership lasted just a few balls when Crouch bowled Ranjane (6) trying to angle one down leg. Donovan Ferreira pushed back with his side under pressure on 97/5 following the middle-order collapse, smashing Siddle for back-to-back sixes in the fifteenth over.
Couch’s dramatic last over started with a dropped catch, which Ferreira punished with three boundaries, before taking his second wicket, with the safe hands of Allen under a Mulder (4) mishit at deep mid-on. Hardus Viljoen survived an LBW review first ball before Siddle bowled him with a textbook yorker two balls later. Rauf finished his four in the penultimate over, going wicketless but leaking just 16 runs all evening. Ghulam landed the key wicket of Ferreira (45) in the last, with the Super Kings ending the first innings with a six from Amshi de Silva to leave them on 161/8.
Super Kings made the early breakthrough under the lights when de Silva bowled Allen for three in the third over, with new man Short then hitting straight back with a six off his first ball. Lhuan-dre Pretorius holed out in the fifth over to a superb grab at mid-off from the veteran du Plessis for 17, bringing in Connor Esterhuizen (4), who lasted just two balls when de Silva squared him up for his third wicket. The powerplay closed with the Unicorns on 53-3 and Bay Area local Sanjay Krishnamurthi now in the middle alongside the imposing Short.
De Silva remained in the spotlight, now from the field, with a stunning direct hit from deep to run out the USA international for four, leaving the home side in a deep hole and Khan tasked with much of the responsibility of getting the chase back on track. That role soon became even more critical when Short chopped on for 28.
Despite a couple of sixes, Khan’s innings was up in the tenth over, skying a slower one to Milne at third man for 14. Hammad Azam and Rauf steadied the ship, but the Unicorns fell further behind the rate through the middle overs.
That partnership was broken when Viljoen clipped Rauf’s leg stump to bring in Couch. Azam dragged on for a handy 20 soon after, while Couch continued to pose a threat and keep the Unicorns’ hopes alive, before being caught off Milne from his own bowling. Ghulam was the final wicket to fall, leaving Siddle stranded and the home side 22 runs short.
San Francisco Unicorns and Texas Super Kings both return to the Coliseum on Friday, facing the Seattle Orcas and MI New York respectively.
San Francisco Unicorns, 139 all out (M Short, 28; A de Silva, 28/4) lost to Texas Super Kings, 161/8 (D Ferreira, 45; G Mudassar, 30/2) by 22 runs
