Texas Super Kings are through to the ‘Challenger’ stage of the Major League Cricket’s playoffs, following their victory over MI New York. Effectively knocking out last year’s champion from the tournament. It was a convincing performance by the Texans, who restricted the MI batting to a respectable 163 for 8 in their 20 overs.
During the chase, the stalwarts of the Texas side, Devon Conway and Faf du Plessis led the way with scores of 51 and 72 respectively. This was followed by a solid 40 off 22 for the Australian Aaron Hardie, which effectively finished off the opposition. With this win the Texas Super Kings advance to the next stage where they will face the winner of the game between the San Francisco Unicorns and Washington Freedom.
A Controlled Bowling Performance – A Typical Texas Outing
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Like their counterparts back in India, the Texas arm of the Super Kings franchise has embraced a cricketing philosophy that is simple but effective. It plays to win, whilst not concerning itself too much with how it goes about doing so. Winning the toss captain Faf du Plessis put the opposition in. Whilst this has become the favored choice by captains in T20 cricket, in high-pressure games chasing can become a tricky proposition.
However, this is where Texas bowlers came to the party. With the first wicket for MI New York falling with 0 on the board. And despite some rebuilding, the Super Kings bowlers kept MI in check throughout the innings. It was a mixed batting performance by New York, with captain Nicholas Pooran once again failing. And this set the tone for the rest of the innings as the MI players were not able to gain the upper hand for the rest of the game. Despite some batting resistance from Rashid Khan.
Top Order Does the Job for Texas Super Kings
In reply, the Super Kings did what they do best dictate the pace of the game from the start. Devon Conway led the way providing a solid foundation for the Texas innings, showing just how much the CSK side missed him in their unsuccessful 2024 IPL campaign. Captain Faf du Plessis formed a match-winning partnership of 101 for the first wicket. And from that point onward the Texas Super Kings did not look back, as the MI bowlers were unable to make any more inroads.
One downside of the chase was the rather slow run rate the Super Kings had maintained. Whilst the asking rate was never out of reach of the Texas Super Kings, it required some big hitting by Aaron Hardie to get them over the line. Overall it was a solid performance by the Super Kings, one that we have come to expect from this team. The question is can they keep going?
Showdown with San Francisco Awaits
Texas, if they are to make a run for the Major League Cricket trophy, they have two games to go. The next one is against high-fliers from San Francisco. Both the Unicorns and the Freedoms have had a great season, with a notable divide between these two and the rest of the pack. The Texans will have to put in a stellar performance to upset the Unicorns, but they certainly have the talent to do so.
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