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Washington Freedom’s Stunning Title Win
Australian batting superstar Steve Smith once again proved why he is hailed so highly as he stood out for his Washington Freedom when it mattered the most and led the team to a stunning 96-run victory over the San Francisco Unicorns and helped them lift the prestigious trophy of the Major League Cricket 2024.
The Australian duo of Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell produced a match-winning batting partnership as they set the stage for a dominant win for the Washington Freedom.
The Freedom’s path to the title win was impressive as first they topped the group stage and then defeated the Unicorns in the Qualifier round. Washington Freedom continued their dominating performances in the final clash as well. With the help of Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell’s amazing partnership of 83 runs, Washington Freedom posted a formidable total of 217 runs on the scoreboard.
Smith, who had been overlooked for Australia’s T20 World Cup squad silenced his critics in style, as he played a brilliant knock of 88 runs in the final. Initially, Smith started cautiously, however, soon he exploded into action and smashed the Unicorn bowlers to all the corners of the ground. His impressive performances in the just-concluded 2024 season of the MLC have raised eyebrows regarding his future in the Australian T20 cricket and Washinton Freedom.
The San Francisco Unicorns’ chase was derailed early by Marco Jansen, who removed both the openers and gave a solid start to his side. Sherfane Rutherford’s valient efforts went in vain as the Unicorns were unable to keep up with the required run rate. They eventually fell short by a wide margin and lost the crucial game to Washington Freedom.
It has to be noted that the stunning win also marks a successful coaching stint for former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who led the Washington Freedom team to a stunning win shortly after bidding goodbye to his role with the Indian Premier League’s franchise Delhi Capitals.
With this triumph, the Washington Freedom has cemented its status as the premier team in the MLC, and the Australian batting superstar Steve Smith has established himself as one of the tournament’s most formidable batters.
Washington Freedom defeated San Francisco Unicorns by 96 runs to win the title of the Major Cricket League (MLC) championship.
Also Read: Sri Lanka Wins Women’s Asia Cup 2024 in Thrilling Final Against India
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Washington Freedom (20 overs maximum)
BATTING
| Player | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
| Travis Head | 9 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 150.00 |
| Steven Smith (c) | 88 | 52 | 7 | 6 | 169.23 |
| Andries Gous | 21 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 150.00 |
| Rachin Ravindra | 11 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 122.22 |
| Glenn Maxwell | 40 | 22 | 1 | 4 | 181.81 |
| Mukhtar Ahmed | 19 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 211.11 |
| Obus Pienaar | 13 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 144.44 |
| Extras (b 1, lb 1, nb 1, w 3) | 6 | ||||
| TOTAL | 207/5 | (20 overs, RR: 10.35) |
Did not bat Washington Freedom: Marco Jansen, Andrew Tye, Ian Holland, Saurabh Netravalkar
Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Travis Head, 1.2 over), 2-49 (Andries Gous, 5.5 over), 3-86 (Rachin Ravindra, 10.1 over), 4-169 (Steven Smith, 16.3 over), 5-177 (Glenn Maxwell, 17.2 over)
DRS
BOWLING
| Player | O | M | R | W | ECON | 0s | 4s | 6s | WD | NB |
| Carmi le Roux | 4 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 10.00 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Cummins | 4 | 0 | 35 | 2 | 8.75 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Hassan Khan | 4 | 0 | 42 | 1 | 10.50 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Haris Rauf | 4 | 0 | 41 | 1 | 10.25 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Juanoy Drysdale | 4 | 0 | 47 | 1 | 11.75 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| DRS |
San Francisco Unicorns (Target: 208 runs from 20 overs)
BATTING
| Player | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
| Finn Allen | 13 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Jake Fraser-McGurk | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Sanjay Krishnamurthi | 13 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 144.44 |
| Josh Inglis | 18 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 163.63 |
| Sherfane Rutherford | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 44.44 |
| Hassan Khan | 13 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 216.66 |
| Corey Anderson (c) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Pat Cummins | 13 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 185.71 |
| Haris Rauf | 7 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 87.50 |
| Carmi le Roux | 20 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 105.26 |
| Juanoy Drysdale | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 83.33 |
| Extras (lb 1, w 1) | 2 | ||||
| TOTAL | 111 | (16 overs, RR: 6.93) |
Fall of wickets: 1-15 (Jake Fraser-McGurk, 2.1 over), 2-30 (Sanjay Krishnamurthi, 3.5 over), 3-30 (Finn Allen, 4.5 over), 4-51 (Sherfane Rutherford, 7.4 over), 5-53 (Josh Inglis, 8.1 over), 6-53 (Corey Anderson, 8.3 over), 7-68 (Pat Cummins, 9.5 over), 8-78 (Hassan Khan, 10.4 over), 9-92 (Haris Rauf, 13.5 over), 10-111 (Juanoy Drysdale, 15.6 over)
DRS
BOWLING
| Player | O | M | R | W | ECON | 0s | 4s | 6s | WD | NB |
| Marco Jansen | 4 | 1 | 28 | 3 | 7.00 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Saurabh Netravalkar | 4 | 0 | 33 | 1 | 8.25 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Glenn Maxwell | 2 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 7.00 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andrew Tye | 2 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 6.00 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rachin Ravindra | 4 | 0 | 23 | 3 | 5.75 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |