110/4 (17.1)
CR : 6.41
108/10 (17.5)
CR : 6.06
Washington Freedom won by 6 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Saurabh Netravalkar
3/16
WF won by 6 wickets
10:14 AM IST, 9:44 PM Local Time: Washington Freedom win by 6 wickets! Pomona dished out a feast for the bowlers. It is rare to see that in T20 cricket but a refreshing sight, nonetheless. The batters had to struggle for every run and in the end, it was the Washington Freedom who adapted better to get over the line.
LAKR won the toss and elected to bat first. They started well in the powerplay despite losing Andre Fletcher early. Colin Munro (25 off 31) and Matthew Tromp (21 off 20) pushed the score to 46/1 before a stunning collapse took place. The middle order apart from Rovman Powell could not get out of single digits. From 46/1, they slipped to 69/6. Powell with his 30 off 19 tried to make a comeback; however, with his dismissal it went further downhill as the Knight Riders were bowled out for 108. None of the batters could adjust to the grip in the surface and kept on skiing the ball. The pick of the bowlers was Saurabh Netravalkar for his 3-16 in 4 overs. Mitch Owen also had a fine outing with 3/19 next to his name. Ben Dwarshuis and Ian Holland picked up two wickets each.
The chase was never going to be straightforward with the conditions on offer. Mitch Owen started with a boundary of the first ball against Sunil Narine before being cleaned up by the spin wizard in the same over. With great use of the classical off spinner and the carrom ball, Narine foxed Andries Gous as well to reduce the Freedom down to 14/2 in 3 overs. Mark Chapman joined Steve Smith, and the pair brought some calm to the chase. They took their time early on and adjusted to the conditions.
Chapman was the first to push the aggressive button and Smith was doing well to hold one end tight. The pair added 62 runs for the third wicket and gained ascendancy in the chase. The partnership came to an end after Chapman nicked off for 34. Nikhil Chaudhary joined Smith and the pair added 26 at a good pace to kill the chase completely. Nikhil was cleaned up for 15 but had done his bit. Smith stayed solid and along with Lahiru Milantha saw it till the end. The Aussie ended with 40(44)* next to his name as the Freedom chased down the total with 17 balls to spare. The pick of the bowlers for the Knight Riders for Sunil Narine for his 2-25. Shadley van Schalkwyk and Andre Russell picked up a wicket each.
LAKR won the toss and elected to bat first. They started well in the powerplay despite losing Andre Fletcher early. Colin Munro (25 off 31) and Matthew Tromp (21 off 20) pushed the score to 46/1 before a stunning collapse took place. The middle order apart from Rovman Powell could not get out of single digits. From 46/1, they slipped to 69/6. Powell with his 30 off 19 tried to make a comeback; however, with his dismissal it went further downhill as the Knight Riders were bowled out for 108. None of the batters could adjust to the grip in the surface and kept on skiing the ball. The pick of the bowlers was Saurabh Netravalkar for his 3-16 in 4 overs. Mitch Owen also had a fine outing with 3/19 next to his name. Ben Dwarshuis and Ian Holland picked up two wickets each.
The chase was never going to be straightforward with the conditions on offer. Mitch Owen started with a boundary of the first ball against Sunil Narine before being cleaned up by the spin wizard in the same over. With great use of the classical off spinner and the carrom ball, Narine foxed Andries Gous as well to reduce the Freedom down to 14/2 in 3 overs. Mark Chapman joined Steve Smith, and the pair brought some calm to the chase. They took their time early on and adjusted to the conditions.
Chapman was the first to push the aggressive button and Smith was doing well to hold one end tight. The pair added 62 runs for the third wicket and gained ascendancy in the chase. The partnership came to an end after Chapman nicked off for 34. Nikhil Chaudhary joined Smith and the pair added 26 at a good pace to kill the chase completely. Nikhil was cleaned up for 15 but had done his bit. Smith stayed solid and along with Lahiru Milantha saw it till the end. The Aussie ended with 40(44)* next to his name as the Freedom chased down the total with 17 balls to spare. The pick of the bowlers for the Knight Riders for Sunil Narine for his 2-25. Shadley van Schalkwyk and Andre Russell picked up a wicket each.
Jason Holder (Los Angeles Knight Riders Captain): "[Decision at the toss] Yeah, probably misread the pitch. Wasn't too sure but looked like a decent wicket. Just didn't play as well as we thought.
[What the batters can do better] Even they struggled to get the 100-odd runs, it wasn't easy. Just got to find a way.
[About the first game at this venue] Good atmosphere, the ground has a lot of potential. In the coming days, we will get more and more people."
[What the batters can do better] Even they struggled to get the 100-odd runs, it wasn't easy. Just got to find a way.
[About the first game at this venue] Good atmosphere, the ground has a lot of potential. In the coming days, we will get more and more people."
Time for the post-match presentations...
Power Hitter Award- Matthew Tromp
Play of the Day- Ian Holland
Player of the Match- Saurabh Netravalkar
Saurabh Netravalkar (POTM): "[How pleased is he with his performance today after being left out a couple of games ago?] Yeah, I am grateful to get the platform again. I am happy I could execute well for the team today.
[Bowling plans on this track] Yeah, firstly it is a great vibe here. It is lovely to be here and to see a cricket ground here. The assessment was that there was some variable bounce. So, we wanted to hit the good lengths, top of off and keep the stumps in play. That is all I tried to do. Keeping it simple.
[On cricket growing in the States] Absolutely. We have come a long way. I mean, 4 or 5 stadiums and season by season MLC cricket is going, and it is a great sign."
[Bowling plans on this track] Yeah, firstly it is a great vibe here. It is lovely to be here and to see a cricket ground here. The assessment was that there was some variable bounce. So, we wanted to hit the good lengths, top of off and keep the stumps in play. That is all I tried to do. Keeping it simple.
[On cricket growing in the States] Absolutely. We have come a long way. I mean, 4 or 5 stadiums and season by season MLC cricket is going, and it is a great sign."
Steve Smith (Washington Freedom Captain): "[Whether Freedom have found their best XI] I am not sure. It was a good performance tonight, we had to respond after the last game. The guys came out and bowled really nicely. It was a tricky wicket tonight. Our bowlers hit the right areas and made them hit to parts of the ground we wanted to.
[On the players who came into the XI] Dwarsh (Ben Dwarshuis) provided something different, left-arm angle. Was able to hit good areas and execute good plans. The rest of the bowlers were outstanding as well, (Saurabh) Netravalkar was great with the new ball and everyone did well around him.
[Playing at this new venue] It was nice. A very nice atmosphere and a cool setting to play cricket in. The more and more cricket you play on the surface, it is going to be better. It was good fun."
[On the players who came into the XI] Dwarsh (Ben Dwarshuis) provided something different, left-arm angle. Was able to hit good areas and execute good plans. The rest of the bowlers were outstanding as well, (Saurabh) Netravalkar was great with the new ball and everyone did well around him.
[Playing at this new venue] It was nice. A very nice atmosphere and a cool setting to play cricket in. The more and more cricket you play on the surface, it is going to be better. It was good fun."
Pomona, the third venue of this year's MLC has given us something different to cheer about. If conditions are going to remain the same here, we shall brave ourselves for some low scoring thrillers. The Knight Riders haven't gotten off to the best start at their home ground but would want to bounce back soon to make it a place they love to play cricket at.
On this note, I, Manan Mehta would like to take your leave on behalf of my colleagues Karthik Raj and Bishal Mandal. B-byeeee!!!
On this note, I, Manan Mehta would like to take your leave on behalf of my colleagues Karthik Raj and Bishal Mandal. B-byeeee!!!