MLC: Washington Freedom edge Seattle Orcas by five wickets in a low-scoring thriller

Dallas: Washington Freedom edged out Seattle Orcas by five wickets in a tense low-scoring match of the 2024 Major League Cricket at Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas on Thursday.

Lockie Ferguson (4/26) and Saurabh Netravalkar (3/18) shared seven wickets between them to bundle out Seattle Orcas to 124 in 19.4 overs. Lahiru Milantha (33* off 30) and Obus Pienaar (31* off 30) then anchored a crucial unbeaten 63-run partnership to guide Washington Freedom past their 125-run target with 10 balls to spare.

With this win, Washington Freedom moved to the top of the points table with five points from three matches, remaining the only unbeaten team in the tournament thus far.

Seattle Orcas came out firing to defend a low total of 125 runs. Imad Wasim removed the dangerous Travis Head for a duck on the second ball of the innings, ending the over with a wicket maiden. Steve Smith and Rachin Ravindra then looked to rebuild with the counter-attack. They scored as many as 18 runs in the third over. Ravindra looked dangerous with the bat, but Nandre Burger dismissed him in the fifth over for 26 off 16 balls, which included three boundaries and two sixes. Smith (12 off 13) followed him back to the pavilion in the following over, leaving the Orcas at 47/3 after six overs.

Both Mukhtar Ahmed and Glenn Maxwell were given lifelines with dropped catches but couldn't capitalise on them. Ahmed (8 off 8) was dismissed by Burger in the eighth over, and Maxwell (10 off 11) fell to Harmeet, leaving their team struggling at 68/5 after 10 overs.

Despite the dire situation, Washington Freedom batters Lahiru Milantha and Obus Pienaar showed resilience as they cautiously approached the target. They helped Washington reach the 100-run mark in the 16th over, reducing the equation to 23 runs needed off 24 balls. Milantha (33* off 30) and Pienaar (31* off 30) constructed a match-winning partnership to help their side get past the winning line.

Earlier in the contest, the Seattle Orcas had a shaky start to their innings. Nauman Anwar was dismissed cheaply for 3 off 9 balls by Saurabh Netravalkar in the second over. The Seattle batters struggled to accelerate on the slow batting track, managing only 35 runs in the Powerplay. Ryan Rickelton also fell for 4 off 11 balls to Lockie Ferguson in the sixth over.

Quinton de Kock (24 off 19) failed to build on his start and was bowled by Ferguson in the eighth over, with Seattle struggling at 44/3 after eight overs.

Heinrich Klaasen and Shubham Ranjane carefully constructed a crucial partnership that steadied Seattle's innings. However, Ranjane (12 off 17) was unfortunately run out on the first ball of the 14th over. Klaasen, batting as if on a different surface, completed his fifty in just 29 balls but was immediately caught by Mukhtar Ahmed at long-off off Marco Jansen in the 15th over. His crucial innings, which included four fours and three sixes, helped Seattle cross the 100-run mark in the 15th over.

Meanwhile, the Washington bowlers didn't allow the following batters to score big. Ferguson took two wickets in the 17th over, finishing his spell with four wickets. He removed Imad Wasim (4 off 6) and Hammad Azam (4 off 9) in his last over. Netravalkar then dismissed Harmeet Singh (2 off 3) in the following over, leaving Seattle struggling at 112/8 after 18 overs.

Seattle managed to get nine runs in the penultimate over as Cameron Gannon (8 off 5) attempted to hit the ball as hard as possible. He struck a maximum but was dismissed on his second attempt, as he got caught by Ferguson at long-off off Ian Holland's bowling. Netravalkar then removed Nandre Burger (3 off 6), thus bowling out the Orcas for 124 in 19.4 overs.

Brief scores: Seattle Orcas 124/10 in 19.4 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 51, Quinton de Kock 24; Lockie Ferguson 4-26) lost to Washington Freedom 127/5 in 18.2 overs (Lahiru Milantha 33*, Obus Pienaar 31*, Nandre Burger 2/27) by five wickets.