UNICORNS’ RECOVERY EFFORT FALLS SHORT AGAINST FREEDOM

San Francisco Unicorns, 126 (M Short, 39; H Khan, 27) lost to Washington Freedom, 129/5 (S Smith, 56; M Chapman, 44), by 5 wickets.

The San Francisco Unicorns were unable to complete the double over Washington Freedom, despite fighting performances from Matthew Short and Hassan Khan and an early burst with the ball, eventually falling by five wickets at the new Fairplex venue in Pomona, LA.

After losing the toss and being put into bat, the Unicorns began positively through Lhuan-dre Pretorius, who struck a boundary from the first ball of the innings and raced to 16 from 12 deliveries. Finn Allen also found the rope twice as San Francisco moved to 30/1 in the fourth over before Washington seized control through Jack Edwards.

Edwards dismissed Allen for 12 before removing Aaron Hardie and Sanjay Krishnamurthi in the same over, reducing the Unicorns to 45/4. Mitchell Owen then removed Hammad Azam to leave San Francisco in further trouble at 58/5, before captain Matthew Short and Hassan Khan combined to steady the innings.

The pair added 51 runs for the sixth wicket, with Hassan clearing the rope off Nikhil Chaudhary and Short finding boundaries off Ian Holland and Mitchell Owen as the Unicorns passed 100. Short top-scored with 39 while Hassan contributed 27, but wickets continued to fall at regular intervals as San Francisco were bowled out for 126 in 19.3 overs, with Edwards finishing with figures of 4/13.

Defending a modest total, the Unicorns made the perfect start when Xavier Bartlett bowled Mitchell Owen in the opening over. Haris Rauf then removed Jack Edwards before Brody Couch accounted for Andries Gous, leaving Washington struggling at 19/3.

Washington captain Steve Smith and Mark Chapman responded with a decisive partnership, combining for 70 runs to take control of the chase. Chapman struck 44 before Hassan Khan held a sharp catch off the bowling of Rauf to provide San Francisco with renewed hope.

Smith continued to anchor the innings, bringing up his half-century with a six off Couch before departing for 56 with victory in sight. Nikhil Chaudhary struck the winning runs with 11 balls remaining to hand Washington a five-wicket victory.

Major League Cricket continues in Los Angeles, with the San Francisco Unicorns set to take on MI New York on Saturday as they look to bounce back in a tightly contested playoff race.