Washington Freedom won the final of MLC 2024 on Sunday, the 28th of July. This final match was played out at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas against the San Francisco Unicorns, and they managed to win by a convincing 96-run margin. It represents what the traveling roster had been throughout this tournament, and this victory was the perfect way to end such great performances. In a strategic move, the home side won the toss and opted to bowl first. However, this decision did not quite turn out to be what they had expected.
Washington Freedom’s bowlers dominate
The Washington Freedom batting lineup took full advantage of the conditions and made a total of 207 runs for the loss of five wickets in their allotted 20 overs. The bowlers of the Unicorns were unable to control the aggressive batting of the Washington Freedom; hence, the Freedom batsmen made full use of it to set an extremely high target.
It was a poor start to the innings for the home team, who lost three of their crucial wickets in the powerplay. Star batters Jake Fraser-McGurk and Finn Allen were both out of the lineup early, building further pressure on the team. The visitors’ bowlers capitalized on it very well, keeping the Unicorns constantly under pressure.
Key component
The bowlers from the cross-country team were outstanding, with Marco Jansen and Rachin Ravindra being the star performers. Both claimed three wickets each through exceptional skill and control. Their disciplined approach made sure there was no recovery for the Unicorns from those early setbacks. That unrelenting pressure and thoughtful bowling from Freedom’s attack were among the reasons the Unicorns couldn’t get to the target.
Even with good effort, the hosts were able to make 111 runs in 16 overs. Carmi le Roux, unbeaten at 20, turned out to be the top scorer for the Unicorns, but he got very little help from the other. The Unicorns were unable to form any good partnerships or solid innings. This has been one of the main reasons that proved to be the cause of their downfall. The bowlers of the Washington Freedom ensured that the Unicorns could never really get any sort of momentum.
Rachin Ravindra played a vital role towards the end. He took that final wicket with the Unicorns struggling to chase the target. That sealed the win for Washington Freedom and was all because of the vital role that Rachin Ravindra had played in the game. He did something important to ensure that the unicorns couldn’t come back.
Smith and Maxwell led Washington Freedom to victory
Travis Head did not have an encouraging start to the innings of the Washington Freedoms, falling in the second over to Pat Cummins. Other early setbacks included Andries Gous and Rachin Ravindra. But captain Steven Smith held things together with a fine knock. His 88 runs off 52 balls—seven fours and six sixes—proved crucial in taking the total to a strong one.
Glenn Maxwell was seen providing good support to Steven Smith with some attacking batting of his own. He made 40 runs off 22 balls, striking crucial runs by cranking up the run rate towards the end. His efforts were instrumental in pushing the Washington Freedom to a competitive total of 207 runs. Not being able to recover from the early blows, the Unicorns couldn’t close the gap, and their innings fell well short of the target set.
The game ended with the San Francisco Unicorns all out for 111 runs, and the Washington Freedom celebrated a big win. This win by 96 runs marked how dominant the performance was throughout the game. This was a massive win for the Washington Freedom, showing their skill and determination throughout the tournament.
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