The MLC (Major League Cricket) 2026 final saw LA Knight Riders take on Washington Freedom. The two sides met at the Oakland Coliseum on July 19th, and it was LA Knight Riders who came out on top and managed to clinch their maiden MLC title.ย
The clash began with Knight Riders coming in to bat first. The side opened its innings with Colin Munro and Andre Fletcher scoring 40 and 47 runs, respectively. After the good start to the first innings, Andre Russell was sent packing for a duck.ย
Matthew Tromp amassed 39 runs in 21 deliveries, but the rest of the middle order failed to put in a good performance. Freedomโs bowling attack put in a good showing to limit Knight Riders to a score of 164 runs in the first innings of the game.ย
Ben Dwarshuis was the highest wicket-taker for Freedom in the first innings with three wickets to his name. Mitchell Owen, Nikhil Chaudhary, and Rachin Ravindra took two wickets each, with Saurabh Netravalkar taking one wicket as well.ย
Sunil Narineโs masterclass helped Knight Riders clinch the title
Speaking of the run chase, Freedom came out to bat with Mitchell Owen and Steve Smith opening the innings. However, the duo was unable to put in a good show as Owen departed on a score of nine runs, with Smith scoring eight runs.ย
Andries Gous continued his brilliant run of form and amassed 40 runs in 35 deliveries. Nikhil Chaudhary added 25 runs in 24 deliveries, with Obus Pienaar adding 53 runs to his name.ย
However, it was not enough for Freedom in the end, as Knight Ridersโ bowling attack proved to be too much to handle for the batting side. Sunil Narine and Jason Holder were the highest wicket-takers, with three wickets each, with Shadley van Schalkwyk taking two wickets to his name as well. Narine was the star of the show as he conceded just 13 runs to his name in the four overs he bowled, taking three wickets as well.ย
In the end, Knight Riders limited Washington Freedom to a score of 163 runs as they won the game by one run and clinched their first-ever MLC title as well.ย
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