The Los Angeles Knights made history by reaching the Major League Baseball (MLC) finals for the first time on Wednesday, defeating the San Francisco Unicorns by seven points in the first round of qualifying at the Oakland Coliseum.By Colin Munro, Andre Russell half a century of support and from Roffman PowellLAKR posted a score of 187/3 defeating a fierce chase led by Matthew Short and Sanjay Krishnamurthi.Despite the loss, the San Francisco Unicorns remain viable in the tournament. They will now compete for a spot in the finals against the winners of the knockout rounds in the challenge.
Munro and Russell laid the platform
After the San Francisco Unicorns won the toss, the Los Angeles Knights were asked to bat first, but Andre Fletcher fell to seven in the second over.Colin Munro steadied the innings with a knock of 51 off 44 balls, hitting five fours and two sixes. He shared a crucial 96 with Andre Russell, who anchored the innings with an unbeaten 62 off 50 deliveries.The biggest momentum shift came in the final round, when Roffman Powell entered the game. The West Indies batsman smashed an unbeaten 50 off just 15 balls, hitting 2 fours and 6 sixes at a staggering strike rate of 333.33.Powell and Russell put up an unbeaten 57 runs in just 19 deliveries, taking LAKR to a challenging 187/3 in 20 overs.For the Unicorns, Ghulam Mudassar took 2/42 while captain Matthew Short took one wicket.
Narine strikes early but Short keeps Unicorns alive
The San Francisco Unicorns are off to a nightmare start in the chase. Sunil Narine dismissed Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Finn Allen in the first three games to reduce the Unicorns to 1/2.Captain Matthew Short then joined Sanjay Krishnamurti to rebuild the innings. The duo completed another brilliant partnership of 151 runs to get the chase back on track.Short remained unbeaten on 94 off 62 balls, hitting 10 fours and two sixes, while Krishnamurti smashed an outstanding 65 off 47 balls with six boundaries and three sixes.However, Shadli van Schalkwijk dismissed Krishnamurti in the 18th over and then Aaron Hardy in the bottom of the innings. The wicket proved to be decisive as Unicorns ended at 180/4, trailing by seven runs.Narine took 2/28 while van Schalkwyk also picked up two wickets.
Powell was named player of the match
Powell was named Man of the Match for his explosive unbeaten fifty.Reflecting on his batting, Powell said he still rates the first few innings higher.“I still think the 73rd inning at Pomona was the better inning. It was a little bit of entertainment today and, you know, the fans got their money’s worth. But having said that, it was a really good team performance.”He praised Munro and Russell for their preparation for the inning.“Yes, we always talked as a batting group and said we didn’t want to lose wickets in the cluster. Both batsmen, who are the top three, and Dre, they batted really well. They set the platform for me to do what I do. Like I said, it’s good to be in the final. These guys have played some good cricket overall.”Speaking about hitting the ball on challenging surfaces, Powell added: “I’m very aware. When I go to bat, I have no choice but to do what I do. But it would be nice to get some bats out of the middle. As a batsman, you always want to have an innings like this. “When the team reached the MLC finals for the first time, Powell said: “Yeah, it means everything. This is a team that didn’t qualify for the playoffs, and now we are in the finals and just one step away from our ultimate goal. Now we need to rest tomorrow, plan, see how today’s game goes, and see where we can play the best performance for ourselves and the team in a few days.”
