194/4 (19.0)
CR : 10.21
190/7 (20.0)
CR : 9.50
San Francisco Unicorns won by 6 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Finn Allen
65(31)
SFU won by 6 wickets
9:50 AM IST, 11:20 PM Local Time: San Francisco Unicorns win by 6 wickets! Phew! What a topsy turvy chase did we just witness. For most of it, the Unicorns were bossing it. Then, it felt like they made a mess of it big time with wickets falling regularly. However, Hassan Khan with his calm demeanor made sure they get over the line despite the hiccups in the middle.
The San Francisco Unicorns won the toss and elected to field first. They had the Orcas in trouble early on by taking 3 wickets inside the first 4 overs. However, a partnership of 65 between Shimron Hetmyer and Matthew Breetzke got the Orcas back on track before Hetmyer was dismissed for 36. Breetzke continued on his merry way before being cleaned up for 55. There were a few quiet overs in the middle there with a couple of quick wickets falling before Marcus Stoinis with his 49 ended the innings on a high. The Orcas finished with 190/7 on the board. The pick of the bowlers was Xavier Bartlett for his 2/36. Peter Siddle, Brody Couch and Matthew Short took a wicket each as well.
The chase was not going to be very straightforward and needed a good start at the top. Lhuan-dre Pretorius started off well before his innings was cut short for 14 by Lutho Sipamla. The Unicorns did not get bogged down by that as Finn Allen and Matt Short added 81 runs for the second wicket. Allen was the aggressor and notched up maximums with regularity before being dismissed for 65 off 31. Sanjay Krishnamurthi came in and joined Short. They both continued to find boundaries at regular intervals in their 33-run stand.
The equation came down to 51 off 30 before a funny collapse broke out. Sanjay Krishnamurthi was dismissed at first for 26 off 18. In the very next over Matt Short had to go back for 43 off 36. The Orcas slipped in quiet overs and the equation had become 36 runs off 18 balls. The Orcas were favourites at that point with two new batters out in the middle. However, Hassan Khan had different ideas. He smashed 16 off the 18th over bowled by Tanveer Sangha. He followed that up with 23 off Marcus Stoinis' over and sealed the game for his side with an over to spare. Hassan Khan ended with 36* off 10 next to his name. The pick of the bowlers in the second innings were Jasdeep Singh and Tanveer Sangha with figures of 1-37 each.
The San Francisco Unicorns won the toss and elected to field first. They had the Orcas in trouble early on by taking 3 wickets inside the first 4 overs. However, a partnership of 65 between Shimron Hetmyer and Matthew Breetzke got the Orcas back on track before Hetmyer was dismissed for 36. Breetzke continued on his merry way before being cleaned up for 55. There were a few quiet overs in the middle there with a couple of quick wickets falling before Marcus Stoinis with his 49 ended the innings on a high. The Orcas finished with 190/7 on the board. The pick of the bowlers was Xavier Bartlett for his 2/36. Peter Siddle, Brody Couch and Matthew Short took a wicket each as well.
The chase was not going to be very straightforward and needed a good start at the top. Lhuan-dre Pretorius started off well before his innings was cut short for 14 by Lutho Sipamla. The Unicorns did not get bogged down by that as Finn Allen and Matt Short added 81 runs for the second wicket. Allen was the aggressor and notched up maximums with regularity before being dismissed for 65 off 31. Sanjay Krishnamurthi came in and joined Short. They both continued to find boundaries at regular intervals in their 33-run stand.
The equation came down to 51 off 30 before a funny collapse broke out. Sanjay Krishnamurthi was dismissed at first for 26 off 18. In the very next over Matt Short had to go back for 43 off 36. The Orcas slipped in quiet overs and the equation had become 36 runs off 18 balls. The Orcas were favourites at that point with two new batters out in the middle. However, Hassan Khan had different ideas. He smashed 16 off the 18th over bowled by Tanveer Sangha. He followed that up with 23 off Marcus Stoinis' over and sealed the game for his side with an over to spare. Hassan Khan ended with 36* off 10 next to his name. The pick of the bowlers in the second innings were Jasdeep Singh and Tanveer Sangha with figures of 1-37 each.
Adam Voges (Seattle Orcas Head Coach): "[On 190 as a first innings score] I thought we probably lost too many wickets early. We were four wickets down at the halfway point. Look, at 190 I thought we were in the game at least. It was maybe 10 under par but gave us a fighting chance.
[On guys missing out because of injuries] We knew that was going to happen at the backend of the tournament. We prepared as well as we could for that. We had Lutho Sipamla come in and Tanveer Sangha as well. I thought they had an impact tonight. We missed those guys, but we knew something like that could happen.
[On the campaign as a whole] Yeah, there are a lot of positives to take out of it. Obviously, we wanted to make the finals and unfortunately, we have missed out there. I think we will reflect on a couple of really close games. Tonight was another one of those where we got ourselves in a good position to win but we just couldn't take our chances."
[On guys missing out because of injuries] We knew that was going to happen at the backend of the tournament. We prepared as well as we could for that. We had Lutho Sipamla come in and Tanveer Sangha as well. I thought they had an impact tonight. We missed those guys, but we knew something like that could happen.
[On the campaign as a whole] Yeah, there are a lot of positives to take out of it. Obviously, we wanted to make the finals and unfortunately, we have missed out there. I think we will reflect on a couple of really close games. Tonight was another one of those where we got ourselves in a good position to win but we just couldn't take our chances."
Time for the post-match presentations...
Power Hitter of the Day: Finn Allen
Play of the Day: Marcus Stoinis
Player of the Match: Finn Allen
Finn Allen (POTM): "[On coming back to form] Yeah, I did not start the competition the way I wanted. I just gave myself more of a chance today. I stayed more discipline with my mental routine. Pretty much just react without thinking about what was going on at the other end.
[On opening with Lhuan-dre Pretorius] He is a good man. He is playing incredible cricket at the moment. It has been fun for me to watch from the other end for the few balls I have been there for. Yeah, he is extremely talented.
[On heading back to San Francisco] Yeah, it should be good."
[On opening with Lhuan-dre Pretorius] He is a good man. He is playing incredible cricket at the moment. It has been fun for me to watch from the other end for the few balls I have been there for. Yeah, he is extremely talented.
[On heading back to San Francisco] Yeah, it should be good."
Matthew Short (San Francisco Unicorns Captain): "[How is he feeling after the win?] Personally, a little bit tired but I am really happy for the boys. Played really well today. Different guys stand up for us at different times, not just tonight but through the whole tournament. I think we have locked in top 2. However, I am pretty sure. Very happy leading into the finals.
[Most pleasing thing as captain] As I touched upon it, everyone has contributed at different times. There have been guys in form, some out of form. There have been guys scoring runs and taking wickets for us at crucial times. There have not been only 1-2 of them but everyone has stepped up. Like Hassan Khan at the end today, Hammad Azam yesterday pinched a few runs. I am happy as captain when you have different guys chipping in.
[On heading back to San Francisco] It is going to be great fun to head back to San Francisco once again. We had a pretty successful run there a couple of weeks ago. So, we are looking forward to going back there and playing in front of the home crowd. Hopefully we can win the trophy there and keep it in San Francisco."
[Most pleasing thing as captain] As I touched upon it, everyone has contributed at different times. There have been guys in form, some out of form. There have been guys scoring runs and taking wickets for us at crucial times. There have not been only 1-2 of them but everyone has stepped up. Like Hassan Khan at the end today, Hammad Azam yesterday pinched a few runs. I am happy as captain when you have different guys chipping in.
[On heading back to San Francisco] It is going to be great fun to head back to San Francisco once again. We had a pretty successful run there a couple of weeks ago. So, we are looking forward to going back there and playing in front of the home crowd. Hopefully we can win the trophy there and keep it in San Francisco."
We finally have our 4 teams for the playoffs with both Texas Super Kings and Seattle Orcas getting knocked out through the course of the day. However, no dead rubbers tomorrow as we still have to finalize the top 2 spots.
What is in store for us tomorrow? MI New York and Washington Freedom will play each other at 2 AM IST (3:30 PM Local Time). Texas Super Kings will play LA Knight Riders at 6 AM IST (7:30 PM Local Time.
On this note, I, Manan Mehta would like to take your leave on behalf of my colleague Bishal Mandal. Ciao!
What is in store for us tomorrow? MI New York and Washington Freedom will play each other at 2 AM IST (3:30 PM Local Time). Texas Super Kings will play LA Knight Riders at 6 AM IST (7:30 PM Local Time.
On this note, I, Manan Mehta would like to take your leave on behalf of my colleague Bishal Mandal. Ciao!