An exhibition showcasing thrilling powerplay hitting was succeeded by a prolonged stutter; however, the commendable performance by Mitchell Owen at the forefront was sufficient to lead Washington Freedom to triumph over MI New York in their MLC 2025 match held in Dallas on Saturday.
Quinton De Kock continues his good form
Following their request to bat, MINY capitalized on the powerful hitting of Quinton de Kock and Monank Patel to reach a formidable total of 70 during the powerplay. The shift in momentum commenced with the very first ball after this phase, with Owen taking charge with the ball on this occasion, although the full delivery directed at the pads arguably did not warrant a wicket. On another day, Monank might have sent it soaring for six, but instead, he directed it towards Mark Adair positioned at deep fine leg.
Despite the considerable firepower within MINY’s lineup, a score of 70 for 1 in 6.1 overs should not have posed a significant challenge. However, Nicholas Pooran has not been performing at the level we expect from him. After a rapid start to the IPL, his form has declined, and he had not reached double digits at MLC 2025 prior to this match. Although he managed to score here, his 33 runs came off 30 balls, which hindered the momentum of the innings, and during this period, MINY also lost de Kock, who scored 55 runs off 34 balls, further exacerbating their difficulties.
Michael Bracewell’s impressive innings of 42 not out off 24 balls, featuring five fours and a six – one of only four in the entire innings – was the key contribution that provided them with a defendable total. This performance nearly secured their victory.
In contrast, Freedom managed scores of 74 and 95 during the powerplay and middle overs, respectively, significantly surpassing MINY’s totals of 70 and 78 in their innings. MINY did not significantly improve their performance in the final overs, adding only 40 runs more, while Freedom had already lost five wickets by the time the death overs commenced, and lost two additional wickets within eight balls of the death phase, gaining merely three more runs. This situation nearly cost them two points, but they ultimately prevailed, thanks to the efforts of Owen and Chapman.
Mark Chapman and Mitchell Owen steal the show
In pursuit of 189 for their third victory, Freedom concluded the powerplay at 74 for 2. Owen contributed 48 runs from 21 balls, including four fours and four sixes, with young medium-pacer Rushil Ugarkar suffering the most, allowing 22 runs in the second over of the innings, during which Owen struck three sixes.
However, Owen was dismissed in the eighth over, with Freedom having already lost Rachin Ravindra and Andries Gous by that point. To make matters worse for Freedom, Mark Chapman appeared unable to accelerate his scoring, as his partnership of 41 runs with Jack Edwards for the fourth wicket spanned 5.5 overs. Nevertheless, it was crucial for Freedom that Chapman did not squander his wicket, even as wickets fell rapidly at the other end, with Sunny Patel and Naveen-ul-Haq inflicting the majority of the damage.
As the death overs commenced, overs 17 and 18 yielded 3 wickets for just 2 runs – Trent Boult allowed only one run, took one wicket, and seemed poised to claim another wicket with each of his deliveries in the 18th over. Unfortunately for MINY, they had exhausted all their leading bowlers and had to rely on Ugarkar for the 19th over, which provided the opportunity Freedom and Chapman needed to complete the task in the final over, bowled by Kieron Pollard.
SCORECARD: Washington Freedom 189 for 8 (Owen 60, Chapman 45*, Edwards 30, Naveen 2-28, Sunny 2-37, Boult 2-38) beat MI New York 188 for 4 (De Kock 55, Bracewell 42*, Pooran 33, Monank 32, Holland 1-6) by two wickets
