Faf du Plessis scored a remarkable 100 off 51 balls, but he largely had to carry the Texas Super Kings on his own. This was the key distinction between the Super Kings and the San Francisco Unicorns on that day, as the Unicorns had two players contributing significantly, scoring at a rate exceeding a run per ball, and sustaining their performance for an extended period. The rapid half-centuries from Matthew Short and Finn Allen not only propelled the Unicorns past the target of 199 but also allowed them to achieve this with 23 balls remaining. This victory maintained their position at the top of the MLC 2025 standings, boasting four wins out of four, while the Super Kings found themselves one place lower following their first defeat.
Faf Du Plessis scores a brilliant hundred
The Super Kings were instructed to bat first, and du Plessis formed two significant partnerships for the initial two wickets, contributing precisely 100 runs to a total of 166. In the first partnership, which totaled 97 runs, Devon Conway was notably slow, managing only 23 runs off 23 balls. In the second partnership, valued at 69 runs, Saiteja Mukkamalla outperformed Conway, adding 38 runs to du Plessis’ 30, although both operated at a similar strike rate.
To exacerbate the situation for the Super Kings, Mukkamalla, du Plessis, and Marcus Stoinis were dismissed in a rapid eight-ball sequence by Xavier Bartlett and Haris Rauf, which disrupted their momentum at a time when they appeared poised to exceed 200 runs. Du Plessis, however, excelled by achieving his first fifty-plus score since April 29, when he scored 62 runs off 45 balls for the Delhi Capitals against the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2025. His innings included six fours and seven sixes, as he maintained a strike rate of exactly 200 before his dismissal. Nevertheless, even if the Super Kings had surpassed the 200-run mark, it is doubtful that Allen and Short would have been significantly affected.
Finn Allen and Matthew Short chase down
In the initial three overs, Allen struggled to make an impact as Short quickly raced to 33 runs off 16 balls, while Allen managed only 1 run from 2 balls. However, the situation changed thereafter. The fourth, fifth, and sixth overs yielded 10, 23, and 15 runs respectively, leading the Unicorns to a total of 83 runs without losing a wicket after the powerplay, with Allen scoring 34 off 16 balls compared to Short’s 46 off 21.
The scoring continued to flow, along with the half-centuries, as the duo elevated the total to 117 before they were parted when Short was caught off Daryl Mitchell’s bowling after scoring 61 runs from 29 balls. At that moment in the ninth over, Allen had reached 52 runs and continued to bat, ultimately finishing with 78 runs off 35 balls. When he was dismissed by the impressive Adam Milne, the Unicorns were only 30 runs short of victory with 7.4 overs remaining. Jake Fraser-McGurk contributed significantly to the chase, scoring 37 runs off 25 balls.
SCORECARD: Texas Super Kings 198/5 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 100, Sai Teja Mukkamalla 38; Xavier Bartlett 2/31, Haris Rauf 2/34) lost to San Francisco Unicorns 202/3 in 16.1 overs (Finn Allen 78, Matthew Short 61; Adam Milne 1/24, Mohammad Mohsin 1/29) by 7 wickets
