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Rovman Powell (POTM): "[Was this his best knock?] I still feel the 73 in Pomona was a better innings. Today was more about entertainment. The fans shall get their money's worth. All in all, it was a pretty good all-round performance.

[On the knocks played by Colin Munro and Andre Russell] We always talk in the batting group that we do not want to lose wickets in clusters. The guys at the top order and Andre at number 3 played fantastically well. They laid the platform for me. It is good to be in the final. The guys have been playing some good cricket overall.

[On his knock on a tricky pitch] I guess it is just clarity. When I went into the bat I had only one thing to do. It always feels nice when a few come off the middle of the bat.

[What does it mean to the group to make it to the final?] Yeah, it means everything. It is a franchise that has never qualified before. Now we are in the final, just one step away from our goal. Now it is about taking rest tomorrow and then start preparing once again. We need to see how the game goes today and yeah hopefully come up with a fine performance on the main day."

Jason Holder (Los Angeles Knight Riders Captain): "[On his team's performance] Yeah, just really happy. The boys played an outstanding game of cricket. From ball one, we were switched on. The boys really put in a big effort. We got a good start again in the powerplay. And then what can I say about Andre Russell? He was absolutely outstanding. He probably played a little out of character in how he held it together. He batted pretty smartly. And then the finishing touch by Rovman with the bat really gave us a really good total at the halfway stage.

[On Sunil Narine taking two early wickets] He's been outstanding. Every single time we've called upon him, he's delivered. That's the class of a top individual. So, well done to him.

[Was he nervous during the Short-Sanjay partnership?] I thought it was an outstanding team effort from the boys. Matthew Short played an outstanding innings. They kept us under pressure. We never felt like we were really ahead of the game or winning the game, but that partnership they had for the second wicket was very, very crucial. It had us under a little bit of pressure at one stage. But then the boys held their nerve. I thought Russell bowled an outstanding 19th over and really got us over the line. 

[Did he feel they were just one wicket away from creating a chance?] For sure. I always thought we were going to win the game. How close it was, I didn't know. But it's good to win these kinds of games. It just gives you a lot more confidence as a group, knowing that if the game comes so close, you can hold your nerve and get over the line. I thought Shadley again was outstanding. He bowled some difficult overs. He probably didn't start as well as he would have liked, but he really finished, executed, and closed out the game for us, which was really, really important. But I think that 19th over by Russ was just outstanding. It gave him a little bit more cushion in the last over. And it went down to the second last ball really.

[On Andre Russell's legacy] Well, he is our Cristiano Ronaldo, Sunil Narine is our Lionel Messi. 600 games is no mean feat. It shows not only longevity but also class. You've got to be able to perform over that period of time to play that many games. Today was just a perfect example of how great he is, and we should just celebrate him. We don't know how much longer he's got left. He's getting on in age, but he showed his class today.

[Can you look into that crystal ball? If you have Lionel Messi on your side, is it the Knight Riders to win the MLC Grand Final on Saturday and Argentina to win the football on Sunday?] I know we've got a 50-50 chance, really. So we'll sit back and watch the next two days and see what happens."

Highest Partnerships at the Major League Cricket (for any wicket):

191 - Shayan Jahangir and Tim Seifert (Seattle Orcas) - 1st Wicket - vs Texas Super Kings, Dallas, 2026

158 - Tajinder Singh and Nicholas Pooran (MI New York) - 3rd Wicket - vs Seattle Orcas, Dallas, 2025

152* - Ryan Rickleton and Quinton de Kock (Seattle Orcas) - 2nd Wicket - vs Los Angeles Knight Riders, Dallas, 2024

151 - Matt Short and Sanjay Krishnamurthi (San Francisco Unicorns) - 3rd Wicket - vs Los Angeles Knight Riders, Oakland, 2026 (Today)*

139 - Said Badar and Unmukt Chand (Los Angeles Knight Riders) - 3rd Wicket - vs Seattle Orcas, Dallas, 2025

What a phenomenal Qualifier did we just see. Two highly competitive teams, multiple ebbs and flows, and eventually the Knight Riders handled the nerves better to fly into the final. They have a lot of time to rest and reset before the big game. For San Francisco, the must forget this as soon as possible and focus on the Challenger. They have earned the right to play a second match in the playoffs and must make full use of it.

I am switching tabs and urge you do the same. It is time for the Eliminator as Washington Freedom take on MI New York. The winner progresses to play the Unicorns in the Challenger and the loser goes home.

On this note, I, Manan Mehta would like to take your leave on behalf of my colleagues Karthik Raj, Rajarshi Das and Bishal Mandal. Ciao!