Steve Smith’s composed half-century and a crucial partnership with Mark Chapman helped Washington Liberty overcome early inconsistency to beat the San Francisco Unicorns by five wickets and move to the top of MLS with a second consecutive win.Washington restricted San Francisco to 126 runs in 19.3 overs after electing to bowl first at the Knight Riders Cricket Ground in Pomona on a pitch that offered movement and uneven bounce to the seamers.San Francisco endured a tough start with Ben Dwarshuis hitting Lhuan-dre Pretorius and skipper Matthew Short twice, while Jack Edwards was superb, taking four wickets. Edwards dismissed Finn Allen, Aaron Hardy, Sanjay Krishnamurti and Harish Rauf to finish with 4 for 13 in 3.3 overs.Short tried to stabilize the innings with a patient 39 off 34 balls, but regular wickets prevented San Francisco from building momentum. Hassan Khan’s 27 off 28 deliveries provided resistance in the late stages but the innings ended at 126 after Ian Holland took two wickets in the closing stages.Washington’s chase gets off to a shaky start Xavier Bartlett Mitchell Owen was brought on at the start before Haris Rauf dismissed the promoted Jack Edwards. When Brody Couch pitches Andris Guth In the fourth quarter, the Wizards made only 19 three-pointers and were under great pressure.However, captain Steve Smith and Mark Chapman combined for 72 runs for the fourth wicket to stabilize the innings. Chapman played a more aggressive role, hitting 44 off 33 balls with three fours and two sixes before falling agonizingly short of a half-century.Smith then took control of the chase, completing his first 50 of the season with an innings of 56 off 49 deliveries. Although he fell needing just 4 runs, Nikhil Chaudhary and Obus Pienaar got the job done with 11 balls remaining to secure a valuable victory for Washington.
