UNICORNS STAY UNBEATEN WITH WIN OVER CALI RIVALS LA KNIGHT RIDERS

Brief Scores: San Francisco Unicorns 219/8 (Fraser-McGurk, 88; Allen, 52) beat LA Knight Riders 187 all out (Chand; 53, Bartlett, 4/28) by 32 runs

The San Francisco Unicorns put back-to-back wins together on home turf at the Oakland Coliseum with a 32-run victory over their California rivals, LA Knight Riders.

Following a record-breaking innings in the MLC 2025’s opening game, the Unicorns were once again tasked with posting an imposing score, having been put into bat by Knight Riders’ captain Sunil Narine. 

Tim Seifert and Thursday night’s hero Finn Allen took a more tactful approach against Ali Khan’s opening set, taking five from it, before Seifert holed out for five runs to mid-on facing a short Shadley van Schalkwyk ball in the second over.

Allen was joined at the crease by the explosive Australian Jake Fraser-McGurk, with the pair building a steady partnership with regular boundaries keeping the scoreboard ticking over until the fifth over, when Fraser-McGurk showed his timing and batting craft with four consecutive sixes off van Schalkwyk.

Four sixes in a row became five in the next over, when Allen powered Andre Russell over midwicket, with his partner bookending the over with another loft over cow corner. Rotating the strike smartly, the crowd were peppered once again in the ninth, with two sixes and a four bringing the Australian’s half century up off of 21 balls, as well as the team’s 100-up.

The barrage continued until Narine snared Allen for 52, following up his 151 last match, with Matt Tromp taking a sharp catch on the boundary rope. Sanjay Krishnamurthi once again showed his technical prowess in a cameo of 12 runs off seven balls, before Fraser-McGurk dialled up the run rate against Tromp in the 13th over with three sixes. His standout innings came to a close against van Shalkwyk in the next, finishing on 88 with 11 sixes to his name, deservedly going off to a standing ovation from the fervent home Oakland crowd.

Hassan Khan and Cooper Connolly steadied the ship, steering the home side towards the 200. Khan top-edged for 11, before Anderson and Xavier Bartlett fell next over to Ali Khan. Brody Couch added two, before Haris Rauf provided some end-of-innings fireworks with a quickfire 16* with the Unicorns leaving the Knight Riders a target of 220 to win.

Xavier Bartlett and Brody Couch, coming in for Carmi Le Roux, opened the bowling against Andre Fletcher and Alex Hales. The opening partnership lasted just nine balls, with the Englishman pulling it to deep square, where Karima Gore was superbly placed to take a clean catch, bringing Unmukt Chand in.

The pace attack rotated in Liam Plunkett and Haris Rauf either side of Bartlett taking the wicket of Andre Fletcher, caught Connolly, in the fourth over, with the powerplay closing with the Knight Riders on 66-2, having poached regular boundaries throughout.

With the match still in the balance, captain Corey Anderson’s call to take the pace off and bring in Hassan Khan immediately paid off, with the left-arm spinner snaring Nitish Kumar caught and bowled for 18. Matthew Tromp joined the dangerous Chand at the crease for the middle overs, but they struggled to find the boundary against Plunkett, Khan, and then Couch in consecutive overs.

Knight Riders’ hundred came up from a Tromp six in the twelfth, with Chand’s half century realised with a smashed six in the next, before skying it to Fraser-McGurk’s safe hands in the deep two balls later, bringing the dangerous Andre Russell into the action, only to last two balls himself, punished by a Rauf rocket that hurtled through the gate.

Needing 84 off the final 30 balls, Badar and Tromp struggled to fire until Bartlett trapped the former in front for 17. LA skipper Narine threatened, swiping 20 from Plunkett’s last over. However, the tail collapsed around him, with Rauf and Bartlett cleaning up Tromp, van Schalkwyk, Khan, and finally Narine himself, to leave the Knight Riders all out with one ball to spare.

The Unicorns’ second consecutive home win puts them top of the MLC table having played two games, with their final Oakland match coming tomorrow, 15 June, against MI New York.