WATCH: Andre Russell hits monstrous six off Haris Rauf in MLC 2023
San Francisco Unicorns beat Los Angeles Knight Riders by 21 runs.
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Jul 19, 2023 11:07 am
Andre Russell (Source: Twitter)
Major League Cricket 2023 (MLC) has been a high-octane tournament so far. The games have been high scoring and have provided a very different experience for the American public. The eighth match took place in Dallas which turned out to be a high-scoring affair. San Fransisco Unicorns (SFU) trumped the Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR) by 21 runs. SFU won the toss and chose to bat first. They made it to 212-7 in 20 overs. The LAKR were so close yet so far as they finished on 191-5 in their 20 overs.
There was a moment of brilliance though from Andre Russell that left the crowd in awe. It happened in the first ball of the 19th over. Haris Rauf bowled a ball in Russell’s range. It was in the slot and Russell got hold of the ball and picked the bones out of that. The West Indian hit the ball with such ferocity that the ball had no chance of coming back it was only going one way and that was out of the stadium. The commentators on air were speechless at what had happened.
Matthew Wade hit 78 off 41 balls with seven fours and five sixes for San Francisco Unicorns
A six in cricket is equivalent to a home run in baseball and that is what Russell did. The 35-year-old had a big partnership in the end with Sunil Narine. While Russell made a belligerent unbeaten 42 off 26 balls with two fours and four sixes. Naraine hit an unbeaten 28 off 17 balls with three sixes. In the end, it was all in vain as the two could not bring their team home. It has not been a great campaign for LAKR as they have slumped to their third straight loss in MLC. The team is sitting at the bottom of the points table.
In the first innings, San Francisco Unicorns (SFU) got to a huge total largely on the contributions of Matthew Wade who made 78 off 41 balls with seven fours and five sites. Marcus Stoinis made a quickfire 37 off 18 balls with three fours and three sixes. Corey Anderson also slammed 39 off 20 balls with three fours and three sixes to provide the finishing touches.
When it comes to the bowlers, it was hard going. But, Adam Zampa emerged as the best bowler for LAKR as he picked up 3-41 in his four overs spell. On the other hand, Shadab Khan was SFU’s trump card as he bowled a wonderful spell of four overs where he took 2-26. Wade was declared the player of the match.
