MLC: Smith, Netravalkar shine in Washington Freedom's win over MI New York

Morrisville (USA): In a rain-marred third match of the ongoing Major League Cricket 2024 at the Church Street Park in Morrisville, Washington Freedom prevailed over MI New York by four runs via the DLS Method.

The match was a tightly contested one. In the second innings, Washington Freedom faced an early setback with the dismissal of Travis Head (1). Steve Smith initially took a couple of overs to settle in, but once he found his rhythm and struck his first boundary on his seventh ball, the New York bowlers struggled to contain him. The Australian star batter smashed four fours and three sixes, racing to an impressive 46* off 28 balls.

With 7.4 overs of the Washington Freedom innings done, the match took a turn for the worse as rain and lighting brought on the covers. However, Smith’s power-hitting in the final over of the powerplay took them ahead on DLS with a score of 55/1. In the end, that proved enough to seal the match as rain played spoilsport.

Earlier in the day, the MI New York struggled to score freely against a disciplined bowling attack after being put into bat first. Despite Nicholas Pooran's valiant effort, scoring a 30-ball 44, New York faced consistent setbacks with regular loss of wickets.

Opener Ruben Clinton (28) gave his team a strong platform with a good start, but the introduction of Glenn Maxwell proved lethal as he was bowled while attempting a reverse sweep.

With Monank Patel (5) and Shayan Jahangir (6) having lost their wickets, all eyes were on Pooran, who found the regular boundaries. Despite the wickets falling at the other end, Pooran kept the pressure on the Washington Freedom bowlers.

Lockie Ferguson was the breakthrough bowler for MI New York, as Pooran’s mistimed shot fell to Glenn Maxwell. Eventually, Pooran was aided by a crucial cameo from Rashid Khan, who smashed 31 off 15, and some valuable boundaries from Anrich Nortje (14), which propelled them to 154.

With the ball for Washington Freedom, Saurabh Netravalkar got the crucial scalps of MI New York skipper Kieron Pollard (3), as well as the dangerous Rashid and Nortje. Even Justin Dill’s three wickets came in handy, with his wicket of Tim David (9) providing a crucial breakthrough.

Brief scores: MI New York 154/9 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 44, Rashid Khan 31; Saurabh Netravalkar 3/24) lost to Washington Freedom 55//1 in 7.4 overs (Steve Smith 46*; Ehsan Adil 1-14) by four runs via DLS method.