MLC 2023: Washington Freedom hand LAKR fourth defeat; End their Playoff Hopes

The inaugural season of Major League Cricket has been a one to forget for Los Angeles Knight Riders as the Sunil Narine-led side has now lost four successive matches and they stand all but eliminated from the race of the knockout stage of the tournament.

LAKR took on Washington Freedom led by Moises Henriques and the men in purple and gold elected to bat first after winning the toss. Batting first Knight Riders lost in form opener Jason Roy in the fourth over innings of the match as he was trapped in front of the wicket by Netravalkar for 7 off 10 deliveries.

Nitish Kumar who walked in after the fall of Roy’s wicket was also dismissed after hitting a six. Former India U-19 skipper Unmukt Chand followed soon after.

The Rescue

LAKR was in desperate need of a partnership after the loss of three early wickets and the pair of Rilie Russow and wicketkeeper Jaskaran Malhotra did so by building a small but crucial 30-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

As the pair was starting to look dangerous Jaskaran tried to play an across-the-line shot to Akeal Hosein and was foxed by the West Indian spinner.

It was the last moment of joy for Freedom as in walked Andre Russell after the fall of Jaskaran’s wicket and started doing what he is known for. The all-rounder started cautiously and played his shots once he got his eye in. 

The Finish

The man from Jamaica scored 70 runs off just 32 balls helping his team reach a competitive score of 175 for 7 at the end of 20 overs. On the bowling front, the South African pace duo of Marco Jansen and Anrich Nortje bowled well as the former picked up two wickets by giving away just 29 runs in his four-over spell while the latter bowled economically without picking up a wicket.

The Reply

Chasing a challenging target of 176 Freedom got off to a good start as the opening pair of Mathew Short and Andries Gous added 68 runs for the first wicket. Gous was the attacking of the two scoring 40 runs off just 15 balls.

The good work was continued by Mukhtar Ahmed who walked in after the fall of the first wicket as he scored 15 runs off 11 balls giving good support to Short who made 43 off 35 balls including three fours and one six. The solid foundation ensured that the freedom chased the target comfortably with six wickets in hand.