Australia's Jake Fraser-McGurk roared back into form with a whirlwind 38-ball 88 as San Francisco Unicorns defeated Los Angeles Knight Riders by 32 runs to register their second win in the ongoing 2025 Major League Cricket (MLC).
After being put into bat, the Unicorns lost Tim Seifert (5) cheaply. But Finn Allen (52), fresh from his jaw-dropping 151 off 51 balls in the previous match, and Jake Fraser-McGurk put on 111 runs for the second wicket in just 54 balls.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jake Fraser-McGurk's 88 runs earned him the title of Stake Player of the Match today in Oakland. ��<a href="https://twitter.com/stakenewsindia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@stakenewsindia</a> x <a href="https://twitter.com/StakeIND?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StakeIND</a> <a href="https://t.co/jP44Of6wrH">pic.twitter.com/jP44Of6wrH</a></p>— Cognizant Major League Cricket (@MLCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLCricket/status/1934061697330708931?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
LA Knight Riders found some breathing space after Sunil Narine removed the dangerous-looking Allen. But Fraser-McGurk continued the onslaught from the other end, smashing 11 sixes during his swashbuckling knock.
The LA Knight Riders did well at the back end of the innings to restrict the Unicorns to 219 for 8. For LA Knight Riders, Shadley van Schalkwyk (3/50) and Ali Khan (2/34) were the main wicket-takers.
Chasing a mammoth total, the Knight Riders lost Alex Hales (6) in the second over. Andre Fletcher also fell after scoring a brisk 11-ball 19.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Unmukt Chand smashes a half century here in Oakland ☄️ <a href="https://t.co/3EMfzVgfkC">pic.twitter.com/3EMfzVgfkC</a></p>— Cognizant Major League Cricket (@MLCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLCricket/status/1934042409513468292?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
Knight Riders No. 3 and former India U-19 World Cup-winning captain Unmukt Chand kept them going with a 30-ball half-century to post 66 in the powerplay. He stitched a quick-fire 46 off 24 balls with Nitish Kumar.
However, they failed to keep the tempo high as Chand and next-in Matthew Tromp then managed just 33 runs off the next 30 balls, which included three boundary-less overs on the bounce. Chand took off again with a four and a six in the following two overs before Rauf roared with a seven-run double-wicket over that saw Chand and Andre Russell walk back.
Saif Badar scored 17 off eight balls and Narine, the captain, smoked 27 off 13, but it was too little too late for the Knight Riders.
For the Unicorns, Xavier Bartlett (4/28) and Haris Rauf (4/41) picked up eight wickets between them, while Brody Couch and Hassan Khan picked up a wicket apiece.
Brief ScoresSan Francisco Unicorns: 219 for 8 (Jake Fraser-McGurk 88, Finn Allen 52; Shadley van Schalkwyk 3/50)
Los Angeles Knight Riders: 187 all out in 19.5 overs (Unmukt Chand 53, Matthew Tromp 41; Xavier Bartlett 4/28, Haris Rauf 4/41)
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