The Major League Cricket (MLC) eliminator at the Oakland Coliseum saw Washington Freedom achieve the highest successful run chase in T20 history, defeating defending champions MI New York by six wickets. The match, which took place on Tuesday, featured three batters scoring centuries, a first in men’s T20 cricket.
Steve Smith led the charge for Washington Freedom with his fastest career century, scoring 110 runs from 48 balls. His innings included nine sixes. He was supported by local player Andries Gous, who contributed 132 runs from 51 balls, hitting 12 sixes and 10 fours. Both Smith and Gous reached their centuries in 40 balls.
The partnership between Smith and Gous was instrumental in the chase, adding 241 runs for the third wicket in 89 balls. This stand is noted as the highest third-wicket partnership in the T20 format and the second-highest for any wicket. Their efforts helped Washington Freedom recover from an early score of 2-10 after the quick dismissals of Mitch Owen (1) and Rachin Ravindra (6).
Andries Gous was awarded Player of the Match for his performance, becoming the first domestic player to score a century in the United States-based league. Smith praised Gous’s hitting, stating that Gous seemed to hit the middle of the bat consistently throughout the night.
Before Washington Freedom‘s chase, MI New York had posted a total of 9-266. This formidable score was largely due to Nicholas Pooran, who scored a 31-ball century, which is the fastest century in Major League Cricket history and the equal sixth fastest of all time in T20s. Pooran’s innings included 13 sixes.
Kieron Pollard also made a significant contribution for MI New York, scoring 64 runs from 25 balls, including eight sixes. During his innings, Pollard surpassed 1,000 sixes in T20 cricket. The match saw a total of 51 sixes hit by both teams, a record for a T20 game, played on a converted baseball field with an average boundary size of roughly 65 meters.
The game’s momentum shifted after Rachin Ravindra‘s bowling spell for Washington Freedom. Introduced when MI New York were 211 for 3 after 13 overs, Ravindra took 4 wickets for 28 runs across four overs, including the 14th, 16th, 18th, and 20th overs. His spell helped limit MI New York‘s final total.
The successful chase of 267 runs by Washington Freedom surpassed Punjab Kings‘ chase of 265 earlier this year, making it the highest successful run chase in men’s T20 cricket history. The match also marked only the second instance of two batters scoring centuries while chasing in a T20 match, with Gous and Smith achieving this feat.
Furthermore, Pooran and Smith became only the fourth pair of captains to score centuries in the same men’s T20 game. The combined total of 536 runs in 38.4 overs highlighted the high-scoring nature of the eliminator.
With this victory, Washington Freedom advanced to the Challenger final, where they are scheduled to face San Francisco Unicorns. The winner of that match will then compete against Los Angeles Knight Riders in the MLC 2026 final on Saturday night in Oakland.
Earlier in the day, San Francisco Unicorns captain Matt Short scored 94 not out from 62 balls in the Qualifier, but his team fell seven runs short of LA Knight Riders‘ total of 3-187.
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Source: cricket.com.au
Arjun Sharma
Sports Reporter