Dallas: Impressive half-centuries by Travis Head and Andries Gous, backed by a dominant bowling performance helped Washington Freedom thrash MI New York by 94 runs in their fifth match of the Major League Cricket 2024 at the Grand Prairie Stadium.
Head scored 54 off 33, while Gous smashed 59 off 48 to power Washington Freedom to 182/5 in 20 overs. Their bowlers then ran riot, skittling MI New York for just 88 runs, securing a commanding victory by 94 runs. With this win, Washington Freedom became the first team to qualify for the Playoffs of the second season, consolidating their lead at the top of the points table with nine points in five matches.
MI New York had a terrible start to their run chase as Washington Freedom bowlers ran riot. They were 25/5 by the end of the Powerplay. Steven Taylor (0 off 3), Monank Patel (4 off 6), Dewald Brevis (2 off 5), Shayan Jahangir (3 off 9) and Nicholas Pooran (4 off 6) had lost their wickets cheaply by the sixth over. Skipper Kieron Pollard (4 off 9) and Rashid Khan (7 off 6) followed them back to the pavilion as by the ninth over MI New York had scored 56/7.
Romario Shepherd and Trent Boult displayed some resilience, as they added 33 runs off 16 balls. Shepherd, the last hope for New York, was dismissed in the 11th over after scoring 25 off 14 balls. Maxwell then wrapped things up for Washington, taking two wickets in the 14th over. He removed Boult (16 off 13) on the first ball and Ehsan Adil (0 off 2) on the third to bowl out MI New York to just 88.
After being asked to bat first, the Washington team had a decent start, thanks to their openers, Steve Smith and Travis Head. However, Smith couldn't capitalize as he was dismissed by Rashid Khan in the fifth over, scoring 8 off 10. Head then took charge and built a solid partnership with Andries Gous. Their timely boundaries and steady play helped Washington cross the 100-run mark in the 11th over.
However, Head's blistering knock of 54 off 33 balls, featuring nine fours and two sixes, came to an end in the next over when he was caught by Rashid Khan at long-on off Romario Shepherd. Glen Maxwell soon followed Head back to the pavilion, despite being given a lifeline in the 15th over when Taylor dropped him at mid-off. Rashid Khan eventually dismissed Maxwell in the 16th over, with him managing to score 15 off 14 balls. After 16 overs, Washington stood at 133/3, with Andries Gous still in the middle.
Washington finished their innings strongly, as they scored 49 runs in the last four overs, thanks to the free-flowing strokes of Andries Gous and Rachin Ravindra. Gous reached his half-century in the 19th over, while Ravindra smashed two sixes and a four off Boult in the same over, producing as many as 23 runs.
Ravindra was dismissed by Kieron Pollard on the third ball of the final over after a quickfire 31 off 14 balls. Gous, who played a vital knock of 59 off 48, was caught on the last ball of the innings, helping Washington post a total of 182/5 in their 20 overs.
Brief Scores: Washington Freedom 182/5 (Andries Gous 59 off 48, Travis Head 54 off 33, Kieron Pollard 2-14 in 2 overs) beat MI New York 88/10 (Romario Shepherd 25 off 14, Trent Boult 16 off 13, Jasdeep Singh 3-14 in 3 overs) by 94 runs.