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9:28 AM IST, 10:58 PM Local Time: Seattle Orcas have won the match by 3 wickets And this is it, the thrilling fixture of the Major League Cricket match between MI New York and Seattle Orcas has come to an end. Shimron Hetmyer was the hero for the Orcas as he completed a record run chase almost single-handedly to get the Seattle-based franchise their first win of the season. They had lost the last five games of previous season as well, so this victory technically has come after 10 defeats.

Sikandar Raza, captain of Seattle Orcas, won the toss and invited MINY to bat first. An early wicket made Nicholas Pooran come out to bat early in the powerplay and he took the match by storm.

Quinton de Kock was dismissed early by Kyle Mayers and then began the onslaught from Nicholas Pooran, with Monank Patel playing the second fiddle. The partnership was broken right at the end of the powerplay, when Tajinder Singh walked out to bat.

This was followed by a 158 run partnership between the two, Tajinder scored the fastest 50 by a domestic player in MLC history. Tajinder scored with a strike rate of 271, and fell 5 runs short of his century.

Nicholas Pooran, on the other hand, did finish his century - his second in his MLC career. 108 runs off 60 balls from Nicholas Pooran, took MINY to a score of 237/4.

Kyle Mayers had the best spell for the Orcas with his 4 overs going for 34 as he bagged two scalps.

While chasing 238, Orcas went all out right from the word go. Wickets kept falling but the batters kept striking at a very good rate.

Kyle Mayers and Sikandar Raza went berserk in the powerplay, notching up 86 runs, the highest ever powerplay score for the Orcas.

A flurry of boundaries from the two, followed by a cameo from Heinrich Klaasen (26 off 13) brought Orcas on the brink.

Shimron Hetmyer carried the innings when wickets were falling from the other end, but cramps hampered his momentum. He could've finished the game with an over or two to spare, if not for cramps. It went right to the wire with 6 being needed off the final ball. Shimron Hetmyer emerged as a hero, with his unbeaten 97 off 40 balls. He hit the final ball for a six off Kieron Pollard to take his team home.

Trent Boult was the pick of the bowlers for MINY, with his 3 wickets for 31 runs. Seattle Orcas have opened their account finally, in this season of the MLC after 5 successive losses. They have moved upwards to the fifth spot, overtaking the Knight Riders on NRR, and just sit behind MI New York on a poorer NRR. Both teams are eyeing the fourth spot. For MI New York, this was their 5th loss of the season.

Nicholas Pooran (MI New York Captain): "It is a tough one. Scoring 238 and still losing the game of cricket. We lost that game when we dropped that catch, catches win you matches. Hats off to Hettie, he played a brilliant innings. 

I mean again, we bowled to the big side as much as possible. If you keep bowling slots, you will get hit. We did that and paid the price today. 

Just one of those seasons; we just need to get the two points. We need to try and get momentum, the batters are trying and the bowlers are trying, it comes to that stage in the tournament, if you cannot execute, you will have to pay the price. In MLC, there are a lot of international players and we have good local players as well. 

You saw how Tajinder, the way he played. That was a brilliant innings. Bowlers win you tournaments like these. We paid the price for bowling badly. Scoring runs and losing the game, doesn't make sense. I am going to keep continue to try and get the momentum."

Time for the post-match presentation...

Shimron Hetmyer( Player of the match):"I think this one is one of the best. Basically considering that our backs were against the walls, where we really needed to win. I was carrying a reminiscent that we should've crossed the line in the last game.

I think prayers always help. My wife says that it is not necessary for you to do everything of your own. Just make sure you pray before doing anything. And today was one of those days when I went with a clear head chasing 240.

I would not comment on that(batting up the order).

I think that helped me a little bit, as I didn't have to run to be honest. I will go back for an ice bath and make sure I am good for tomorrow."

Highest Targets Successfully Chased in MLC

238/7 by Seattle Orcas vs MI New York, Dallas, 2025 (TONIGHT) [T - 238]

223/3 by Washington Freedom vs Texas Super Kings, Dallas, 2025 (T - 221)

214/5 by Washington Freedom vs Los Angeles Knight Riders, Dallas, 2025 (T- 214)

203/3 by MI New York vs Seattle Orcas, Oakland, 2025 (T - 201)

202/3 by San Francisco Unicorns vs Texas Super Kings, Dallas, 2025 (T - 199)

Sikandar Raza(Seattle Orcas Captain): "I think a lot of the talking was done before that. I have been in a position like this so many times, and that is when the characters get tested and I would have been proud even if the results didn't go in our favour today.

Those are the things you have to deal with. Sometimes you have to retire for the betterment of the team, Fletchy had to retire out for the betterment of the team. The management thought that we had to do make some decisions and they made those decision. Today we had our backs against the wall, and it was not a battle of skill, it was a battle of character.

To be honest, there is so much skill on display these days, small boundaries, the pitch was good today, the wind wasn't a big factor and the introduction of t10 has made the batters and bowlers fearless to execute their skills. So it is just the evolution of t20 cricket and the skill level is very high now."

This is it from the fixture between Seattle Orcas and MI New York. This is Utsav Chandak, signing off on behalf of Ajay Singh and the scorer/analyst of the fixture, Ashok Dayama. Thanks for staying with us till the end.