147/9 (20.0)
CR : 7.35
152/8 (20.0)
CR : 7.60
San Francisco Unicorns won by 5 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
Hammad Azam
64(46)*
19.6
1
Ghulam Mudassar to Sufiyan Muqeem
END OF THE GAME!!!! SFU HAVE PULLED OFF A VICTORY IN THIS NAIL-BITING THRILLER!!! Muqeem needed to hit a six on his first ball and it was a mighty task for anyone, let alone a number 11 batter. Ghulam bowls his usual cross-seam hard-length delivery. 137.7 kph. Around 5th stump. Muqeem backs away and then slaps it hard. The ball goes flat in the air for a moment but then lands and races straight to the long off fielder, who makes no mistake in fielding it. Only one run was possible here. Perth end their innings at 147/9. A brilliant spell from Ghulam. He finishes with 4/32. Unicorns win by 5 runs.
Over 20
Perth Scorchers 147/9
Brody Couch23(12)
Sufiyan Muqeem1(1)
Ghulam Mudassar4-32(4.0)
SFU won by 5 runs
11:05 PM IST, 1:35 PM Local Time: San Francisco Unicorns have pulled off a victory in this nail-biting thriller. They win by five runs as Perth Scorchers XI finish at 147/9. A brilliant last over from seamer Ghulam Mudassar, who ends his excellent spell with figures of 4/32. SFU have registered their first victory of the season while Perth have suffered back-to-back defeats now and are yet to open their account in Global Super League (GSL) 2026.
SFU batted first and had a poor start to their innings. However, Hammad Azam (64*) played an exceptional knock and took the side's score to 152/8 on a turning track. Chasing 153, the Scorchers endured a poor start when opener Andre Fletcher was bowled by Ghulam Mudassar for just 1, leaving the side at 7/1 in the fifth over.
D'Arcy Short attempted to rebuild the innings and found some support from wicketkeeper Joel Curtis, who struck 16 off 13 balls, including two fours and a six, before falling to Mudassar. The innings continued to stutter as Dian Forrester struggled for seven deliveries before being dismissed for a duck by Peter Siddle, leading to Perth losing three wickets inside the powerplay.
Usman Khan made 14 off 12 before becoming Anirudh Immanuel's lone wicket. Captain Ashton Turner looked to steady the chase with 13 off 12, but his dismissal left the Scorchers reeling at 82/5.
Short kept the scoreboard ticking despite wickets falling around him, compiling 43 from 38 deliveries with four boundaries, before Siddle ended his resistance in the 16th over.
By then, Perth had slipped to 103/7, with Ashton Agar (4) and Jhye Richardson (2) also departing cheaply. The lower-order pair of Akeal Hosein and Brody Couch ensured the Scorchers remained in the contest until the closing stages. Akeal Hosein struck 19 off 12 balls, smashing two sixes, while Brody Couch produced an entertaining unbeaten 23 from just 12 deliveries, hitting one four and two sixes.
Couch's late assault lifted Perth's spirit and kept them in the contest till the final ball. However, Hosein got dismissed on the penultimate ball and then Sufiyan Muqeem had one ball to face, in which he had to hit a six to take the game into the Super Over. He could only manage a single and Perth lost their second game on the trot.
San Francisco's bowlers produced a disciplined all-round performance. Ghulam Mudassar starred with 4 for 32, removing Fletcher, Curtis, Hosein and Richardson, while Peter Siddle claimed 2 for 31, including the key wicket of Short. Fabian Allen, Anirudh Immanuel, and Callum Stow picked up a wicket apiece as the Unicorns restricted Perth to five runs short of the target.
SFU batted first and had a poor start to their innings. However, Hammad Azam (64*) played an exceptional knock and took the side's score to 152/8 on a turning track. Chasing 153, the Scorchers endured a poor start when opener Andre Fletcher was bowled by Ghulam Mudassar for just 1, leaving the side at 7/1 in the fifth over.
D'Arcy Short attempted to rebuild the innings and found some support from wicketkeeper Joel Curtis, who struck 16 off 13 balls, including two fours and a six, before falling to Mudassar. The innings continued to stutter as Dian Forrester struggled for seven deliveries before being dismissed for a duck by Peter Siddle, leading to Perth losing three wickets inside the powerplay.
Usman Khan made 14 off 12 before becoming Anirudh Immanuel's lone wicket. Captain Ashton Turner looked to steady the chase with 13 off 12, but his dismissal left the Scorchers reeling at 82/5.
Short kept the scoreboard ticking despite wickets falling around him, compiling 43 from 38 deliveries with four boundaries, before Siddle ended his resistance in the 16th over.
By then, Perth had slipped to 103/7, with Ashton Agar (4) and Jhye Richardson (2) also departing cheaply. The lower-order pair of Akeal Hosein and Brody Couch ensured the Scorchers remained in the contest until the closing stages. Akeal Hosein struck 19 off 12 balls, smashing two sixes, while Brody Couch produced an entertaining unbeaten 23 from just 12 deliveries, hitting one four and two sixes.
Couch's late assault lifted Perth's spirit and kept them in the contest till the final ball. However, Hosein got dismissed on the penultimate ball and then Sufiyan Muqeem had one ball to face, in which he had to hit a six to take the game into the Super Over. He could only manage a single and Perth lost their second game on the trot.
San Francisco's bowlers produced a disciplined all-round performance. Ghulam Mudassar starred with 4 for 32, removing Fletcher, Curtis, Hosein and Richardson, while Peter Siddle claimed 2 for 31, including the key wicket of Short. Fabian Allen, Anirudh Immanuel, and Callum Stow picked up a wicket apiece as the Unicorns restricted Perth to five runs short of the target.
Time for post-match presentations...
Player of the Match: Hammad Azam
Hammad Azam (Player of the Match): "(On winning this close contest) I mean, it feels really good to be on the winning side, especially when you've contributed to the team. Being on the winning side is always a great feeling, so I'm really happy.
(Mindset during this match-winning knock) I mean, it wasn't the ideal situation for us. Our plan was to bat the full 20 overs, go as deep into the innings as we could, and put some runs on the board. Thankfully, we managed to do that.
(Any specific boundary that impressed you?) As long as it's going for a boundary, I'm happy.
(On his recent batting form) I mean, I've been working really hard with the coaches. I worked with the Unicorns coaches, especially Ben, our batting coach over there. I've been putting in a lot of hard work with them, and it's nice to see it paying off."
(Mindset during this match-winning knock) I mean, it wasn't the ideal situation for us. Our plan was to bat the full 20 overs, go as deep into the innings as we could, and put some runs on the board. Thankfully, we managed to do that.
(Any specific boundary that impressed you?) As long as it's going for a boundary, I'm happy.
(On his recent batting form) I mean, I've been working really hard with the coaches. I worked with the Unicorns coaches, especially Ben, our batting coach over there. I've been putting in a lot of hard work with them, and it's nice to see it paying off."
Hassan Khan ( San Francisco Unicorns Captain): "(Reflect on this winning effort) I think the way Hammad played in the middle after we lost four wickets in one over. Credit goes to him for the way he handled the pressure at that stage. The way he batted and got us to the 150-run mark helped us a lot.
(Assessment during the halfway mark) Yeah, at the halfway stage we were pretty confident because the par score here is around 150. We were obviously a bit concerned when we lost four wickets in one over, but the way Hammad handled the pressure in the middle and got us to a good total meant we were pretty confident going into the second innings.
(About that brilliant catch at covers) I just tried to contribute in any way I could, whether it was with the bat, the ball, or in the field. I couldn't do much with the bat or the ball today, so I just tried to make an impact in the field.
(On the playing combination for today's match) Yeah, I think the combination was good for a day game, but it can always vary for a night game. So far, so good. Let's see how it goes in tomorrow's game."
(Assessment during the halfway mark) Yeah, at the halfway stage we were pretty confident because the par score here is around 150. We were obviously a bit concerned when we lost four wickets in one over, but the way Hammad handled the pressure in the middle and got us to a good total meant we were pretty confident going into the second innings.
(About that brilliant catch at covers) I just tried to contribute in any way I could, whether it was with the bat, the ball, or in the field. I couldn't do much with the bat or the ball today, so I just tried to make an impact in the field.
(On the playing combination for today's match) Yeah, I think the combination was good for a day game, but it can always vary for a night game. So far, so good. Let's see how it goes in tomorrow's game."
Ashton Turner (Perth Scorchers XI Captain): "(Reason for another loss) Yeah, I mean, the conditions have been reasonably challenging and quite foreign for us. They're very different from what we're used to back home. We're trying to adapt to these low, spinning conditions as best we can, but unfortunately we haven't done that well enough in the first two games.
(On the team's bowling performance) It was a bit of a tale of two halves. We did a lot of things well. They came out of the blocks quickly, but we dragged them back into the game. We took wickets and I felt we were as aggressive as we could be with our fields, our lines and our lengths. They played some really good shots towards the back end of the innings and probably got away from us a little.
We knew from early on that this was going to be a lower-scoring wicket. There was some low bounce and the feedback we had was that there would be spin early, so we didn't expect it to be a 200-run game like we saw last night. It's frustrating that they managed to squeeze out another 20 or 30 runs. If we had taken a catch or converted a couple of half-chances, we probably would have been chasing around 100, and that's a very different game. So it's a little frustrating, especially in such a short tournament.
(On message to his team) We're just going to keep getting better, Rob. As I said before the game, there are plenty of positives to take away. Our bowling, for the most part, was excellent. With the bat, we need to find a way to build partnerships. We need to find a way to score more boundaries through the middle overs and keep wickets in hand for the back end. We've seen that there are scoring opportunities in the final few overs when the seamers come back into the attack. We need our top-order batters to be batting deep enough into the innings to take advantage of that phase."
(On the team's bowling performance) It was a bit of a tale of two halves. We did a lot of things well. They came out of the blocks quickly, but we dragged them back into the game. We took wickets and I felt we were as aggressive as we could be with our fields, our lines and our lengths. They played some really good shots towards the back end of the innings and probably got away from us a little.
We knew from early on that this was going to be a lower-scoring wicket. There was some low bounce and the feedback we had was that there would be spin early, so we didn't expect it to be a 200-run game like we saw last night. It's frustrating that they managed to squeeze out another 20 or 30 runs. If we had taken a catch or converted a couple of half-chances, we probably would have been chasing around 100, and that's a very different game. So it's a little frustrating, especially in such a short tournament.
(On message to his team) We're just going to keep getting better, Rob. As I said before the game, there are plenty of positives to take away. Our bowling, for the most part, was excellent. With the bat, we need to find a way to build partnerships. We need to find a way to score more boundaries through the middle overs and keep wickets in hand for the back end. We've seen that there are scoring opportunities in the final few overs when the seamers come back into the attack. We need our top-order batters to be batting deep enough into the innings to take advantage of that phase."
We have been treated with an absolute thriller in GSL' 26 once again. If yesterday was a high-scoring thriller, today we witnessed a low-scoring encounter, where the San Francisco Unicorns held on to their nerve to snaffle a 5-run victory. This win also marks their first win of the season, whereas the search for the opening victory continues for the Perth Scorchers XI.
That is it from this clash. Myself, Abhishek Sharma, along with my co-commentator, Mohammad Anab and scorer/analyst, Chandan Kumar Singh, will take your leave. The cricketing action at Crickxo never stops. So we will be right back with another thriller of a contest. UNTIL THEN TAKE CARE, B-BYEEEE!!!
That is it from this clash. Myself, Abhishek Sharma, along with my co-commentator, Mohammad Anab and scorer/analyst, Chandan Kumar Singh, will take your leave. The cricketing action at Crickxo never stops. So we will be right back with another thriller of a contest. UNTIL THEN TAKE CARE, B-BYEEEE!!!