UNICORNS SMASH FRANCHISE RECORD IN DOMINANT HOME OPENER

The opening match of 2025 Cognizant Major League Cricket saw San Francisco Unicorns face last year’s champions Washington Freedom at Oakland Coliseum, marking the first time the Bay Area team has played on home soil.

In front of over 5,000 passionate fans, including star of The Big Bang Theory and team ambassador Kunal Nayyar, the Unicorns put on an impressive showing in a dominant defeat of the Washington side, with one notable team record also broken in the process.

The San Francisco Unicorns, in putting on a score of 269/5, hit 28 sixes in their opening innings, putting them top of the list for number of sixes in an innings for franchise cricket teams. The previous record of 24 was held by Punjab Kings in their defeat of Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL in 2024.

Finn Allen led the charge to the record total, hitting an individual T20 record of 19 sixes, with Tim Siefert adding two, local batsman Sanjay Krishnamurthi providing four, and Hassan Khan closing the innings with three more sixes.

The T20 franchise sixes record was among a number on the night, with Allen’s knock also being the fastest to 150 runs. The team’s total of 269 was also the most in the league’s three seasons and the first time that any side has broken the 250-mark on US soil.

The innings team sixes record also stands second in any T20 format, trailing Baroda’s 37 sixes in the Ranji Trophy in December 2024, and ahead of Zimbabwe’s 27 versus Gambia, also set last year.