Xavier Bartlett’s blazing unbeaten 25-ball 59 powered San Francisco Unicorns to a stunning 3-wicket win over MI New York in California. Reduced to 108 for 6 in the 13th over, Unicorn chased down the 183-run target with five balls to spare handing MINY their second successive loss of the campaign.
QDK and Pollard set up the target for MINY
In their batting innings, MINY was propelled by Quinton de Kock’s impressive score of 63 runs off 38 balls. Although Agni Chopra, Monank Patel, and Nicholas Pooran were unable to contribute significantly, de Kock established a solid foundation for MINY during the initial phase of the innings. Kieron Pollard struck four boundaries against Hassan Khan in the 16th over, while Sunny Patel added three boundaries in the 18th over. Their brief yet impactful performances enabled MINY to achieve a competitive total, despite the effective bowling from Haris Rauf in the closing overs.
Upon being invited to bat, MINY capitalized on Quinton de Kock’s 63 runs from 38 balls at the top of the order, along with contributions from Kieron Pollard and Sunny Patel, to reach a competitive score.
De Kock’s 63 came from just 38 deliveries, but there was minimal support from his teammates during his innings. Following his dismissal in the 12th over, with the score at 102 for 4, it appeared that MINY might fall short of a respectable total. However, Pollard’s explosive four sixes in a nine-ball 16th over against Hassan shifted the momentum, and Sunny Patel contributed an unbeaten 20 runs off 11 balls from the No. 8 position. For a considerable period, it seemed that MINY’s total would suffice, but Bartlett ensured that it did not.
Xavier Bartlett's carnage does the work
In response, the Unicorns commenced their innings with great enthusiasm as Finn Allen hit Trent Boult for several sixes during the initial over of the chase. Nevertheless, their scoring rate was soon curtailed. Naveen-ul-Haq dismissed Allen in the second over, leading to a collapse in the top order with Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, and Cooper Connolly all falling cheaply. By the conclusion of the powerplay, the team found themselves at 42 for 4.
Amidst this turmoil, Tim Seifert faced difficulties in accelerating the scoring, particularly against Sunny Patel. However, Hassan’s powerful hitting from the opposite end kept the Unicorns in contention. The pair accumulated 64 runs off 31 balls, primarily due to Hassan’s explosive 17-ball 43, which featured 5 sixes. Both set batsmen were dismissed shortly thereafter, and Corey Anderson faced challenges as well, managing only 9 runs off 13 balls.
Nonetheless, Bartlett struck 25 runs in the 15th over against Michael Bracewell, injecting some momentum into the chase and gradually shifting the momentum of the match. Even after Anderson’s dismissal, Bartlett maintained an aggressive approach, scoring 16 runs off Boult in the 17th over. He concluded the chase by hitting Kieron Pollard’s slower delivery for a six over the long-on boundary, thereby securing Unicorns’ third consecutive victory.
SCORECARD: MI New York 182/7 in 20 overs (Quinton de Kock 63, Kieron Pollard 30; Haris Rauf 2-24, Hassan Khan 2-54) lost to San Francisco Unicorns 188/7 in 19.1 overs (Xavier Bartlett 59*, Hassan Khan 43; Naveen ul-Haq 2-28, Ehsan Adil 2-43) by 3 wickets
