In an exciting high-scoring match between MI New York (MI NY) and Seattle Orcas (SEA), the latter secured a thrilling two-wicket win.
The Orcas won the toss and opted to bowl first. MI New York’s opening batsman, Monank Patel (2), faced early struggles and lost his wicket cheaply in the third over. Shayan Jahangir (19) followed suit, unable to capitalize on his initial success.
After crossing the 50-run mark, MI NY lost Hammad Azam (2) in the seventh over, finding it challenging to score runs. However, Nicholas Pooran and captain Kieron Pollard formed a crucial partnership that kept their team on track. They managed to post a competitive score of 194/8 in their allotted 20 overs.
Seattle Orcas made a decent start to their innings, but Quinton de Kock (9) got dismissed early in the fourth over, missing the opportunity to build a strong partnership with Nauman Anwar. In the beginning of the sixth over, Shehan Jayasuriya (0) followed de Kock to the pavilion.
Nauman Anwar and the in-form Heinrich Klaasen painstakingly built a partnership that helped the Orcas cross the 50-run mark in the eighth over. Anwar (51) scored a significant half-century but got dismissed in the eleventh over, just as the Orcas were about to reach 100 runs.
Klaasen played an outstanding innings, scoring the first-ever century in the MLC with an unbeaten 110 runs off 44 balls, guiding the Orcas to victory in this high-scoring encounter. He was rightfully awarded the player of the match for his exceptional performance.
