The Los Angeles Knight Riders claimed their first Major League Cricket (MLC) title after a thrilling finish to the last over of the match at the Oakland Coliseum by winning by a single run from defending champions Washington Freedom. The Knight Riders were able to hold their nerve and prevent an incredible comeback in a race that went down to the last delivery and ended Washington’s chance of keeping the title.
Veteran all-rounders Sunil Narine and Jason Holder were the key contributors with the ball as their explosive late assault was thwarted just short of a great chase in MLC history by Obus Pienaar.
Dominant ball is played by Narine and Holder.Narine and Holder play dominant ball.
But defending an unlikely total of 164, skipper Sunil Narine was not about to disappoint with some early breakthroughs.
The experienced spinner replaced the dangerous opener Mitchell Owen for the third time this season and later, he replaced Rachin Ravindra and Steve Smith to leave Washington Freedom with 29/3 in the Powerplay.
Andries Gous, the wicketkeeper-batter, came up to the plate and formed a fine partnership with Nikhil Chaudhary to keep Freedom in the chase after the first low.
But Los Angeles got the wind up its back when Jason Holder returned the favour. The West Indies all-rounder picked up key wickets – that of Chaudhary and Ben Dwarshuis – and then pulled Gous out in the last overs. Washington had to run quickly to get into trouble at the end of the day thanks to Holder’s spell.
Pienaar’s heroics almost changed the game.
The Knight Riders were on track for an easy win when they got out an anti-ball break from the likes of Obus Pienaar.
The South African all-rounder then went 24 balls for 53 off to get Washington back into the game. His brave batting took the equation down a notch more and brought the game to the last over on a knife edge.
The first delivery of the final over was hit a great strike by Pienaar who was caught at the perfect time by Shadley van Schalkwyk in a pin-point yorker.
However, even then, Washington fought on. Lockie Ferguson got the boundary to leave just two runs needed from the final ball. A frantic chase for the runs to complete failed with a run-out and Los Angeles went on to maintain a jubilant celebration and earn an unforgettable one-run win.
After mid-innings collapse, Knight Riders bounce back.
Los Angeles Knight Riders had a promising start before posting a dismal 164 all out in 19.4 overs earlier.
The duo of attackers Andre Fletcher and Colin Munro opened the floodgates in the early overs while Matthew Tromp joined the fray in the middle.
But the bowlers of Washington Freedom came out with a stellar performance. Ben Dwarshuis took three wickets while Rachin Ravindra and Nikhil Chaudhary pounced on crucial moments for Knight riders as they were losing wickets regularly after crossing 100-run mark.
From a lofty start, Los Angeles were held to a below average total, and they had to rely on a high-quality bowling performance in the closing stages.
Knight Riders Make History
It was the perfect turn of the ball at the perfect time.
Narine finished with outstanding figures of 3 for 13, while Holder picked up 3 for 31 as the experienced duo combined to deliver Los Angeles Knight Riders their first Major League Cricket championship.
The win also marked Washington Freedom’s end to their three-game winning streak and the first time in the history of the MLC that a new name was added to the trophy’s engraving. One of the most spectacular finals in the league’s history was rounded off with the Knight Riders finally winning their first title after an amazing playoff run.
