UNICORNS WIN COLISEUM THRILLER AGAINST MI NEW YORK

San Francisco Unicorns, 188/7 (Bartlett, 59*; Khan, 43) beat MI New York, 182/7 (de Kock, 63; Pollard, 30) by 3 wickets

The San Francisco Unicorns ended the home leg of 2025 Cognizant Major League Cricket at the Oakland Coliseum unbeaten with a tense win over MI New York. The game, which repeatedly seesawed between the two sides, saw an unexpected hero with the bat, Xavier Bartlett, blast a personal top score and a maiden half century to see the game off with five balls to spare.

Tasked with batting first by the Unicorns’ captain Corey Anderson, MI New York’s Quinton de Kock and Agni Chopra opened to Australian quick Xavier Bartlett and Carmi Le Roux, who returned to the side in place of Brody Couch. Drawing nine from the first over, Le Roux trapped Chopra LBW in the second for eight runs to make the early breakthrough.

Monank Patel grew into the game, building a steady partnership with de Kock to end the powerplay on 54/1, with 21 of those added in a flurry of boundaries in the sixth over. Juanoy Drysdale, returning to the Unicorns’ lineup for the first time this year, took on the bowling duties after the powerplay before Hassan Khan cut a promising partnership of 58 short in the next, taking Monank’s scalp, caught for 20 at long-on.

With experienced T20 star Nicholas Pooran and the well-set de Kock now at the crease, the Unicorns kept the pressure on, allowing regular singles interspersed with two sixes, before Bartlett got away with a full toss that the West Indian slapped to Rauf at long-off, caught for five. Khan struck again next over to end de Kock’s innings on 63 from 38 balls.

Keiron Pollard took the game on for 30 off 16 before finding the edge off Carmi le Roux, and Michael Bracewell added 17 before Haris Rauf took out his off stump, leaving New York six down with four overs to come. Rauf struck again, taking Tajinder Singh’s wicket for 7, leaving Trent Boult and Sunny Patel to navigate the final ten balls of the innings, with Bartlett conceding just eight off the last to leave a Unicorns’ chase of 183 to make it three wins from three.

The Unicorns’ Kiwi openers Finn Allen and Tim Seifert took on countryman Trent Boult in the first over, with the latter plundering a boundary first ball before rotating the strike for Allen to heave a six of his own. Naveen-ul-Haq’s variety undid the form batsman next over though, forcing a miscue from a short ball that angled back in. Jake Fraser-McGurk skyed one to keeper de Kock off Boult at the start of the third over, leaving the Unicorns in an unfamiliar position: on the back foot.

Sanjay Krishnamurthi was caught behind trying to turn one fine from Naveen for 2, bringing Cooper Connolly in to help settle the Unicorns’ chase. The Australian navigated a dropped catch at the start of Ehsan Adil’s sixth only to fall feathering behind for 8 and chasing the game at 42/4 at the end of the powerplay.

Sunny Patel restricted the home team to singles before Adil returned to be despatched for 19 with new batsman Hassan Khan plundering three boundaries. Opener Siefert remained in the action, moving through the gears in the middle overs and helping the Unicorns to their 100-up in the eleventh over.

With momentum building for the home side, Patel found the faintest edge of Khan’s to end his scintillating innings of 43 from 17. Siefert fell next over to Bracewell, adding 33 in a mature contribution that kept the Unicorns up with the rate, but with two new batsmen in Anderson and Xavier Bartlett now at the crease. Struggling to find their rhythm, Bartlett exploded in the fifteenth with three sixes against Bracewell to leave 40 needed from the remaining 30.

New York halted the charge when Adil lured Anderson into a boundary heave that only made it into the hands of the bruised Bracewell inside the rope, caught for 9. New man in Rauf then watched as Bartlett closed Boult’s spell out with three boundaries to leave the Unicorns in need of just over a run a ball, while the expectant crowd creeped onto the edge of their seats.

A boundary in the next Naveen over followed by a couple of smart runs brought up the maiden half century for Xavier ‘X’ Bartlett, before a considered penultimate set of six left the Unicorns in need of two from the last. Pollard sent down a wide to tie the game before Bartlett finished the match in emphatic style, cracking a six over long-on and into a wall of noise constructed by the home crowd.

San Francisco Unicorns’ third win on the bounce sees them top the MLC 2025 table. They now leave the Oakland Coliseum with thousands more fans, having put their stake in the ground as a fully-fledged and successful local sporting franchise. The Unicorns next game comes against second place Texas Super Kings at the Grand Prairie Stadium, nr Dallas, on Friday, June 20.