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A fascinating battle during the 7th match of the 2023 MLC league ensued between Texas Super Kings and MI New York on July 18 at Grand Prairie Ground in Dallas. The game commenced at 6 AM IST. MI New York performed decently with the ball but didn’t do enough with the bat to secure the victory.
TSK, after opting to bat first, made 154 for 7 on the back of a sublime 74 from Devon Conway and a quick-fire 27 off 13 by Santner. Despite losing early wickets, he anchored the innings well along with Miller to navigate through the turbulent middle period. The duo put on a 64-run stand for the fourth wicket which added some impetus into the Texas innings.
In the end, Mitchell Santner played a lightning cameo of 27 (13) to lift his side past the 150-run mark. Unfortunately, a constant flurry of wickets restricted them to just 154. Boult and Rabada did the job again for MINY with 2 apiece while Pollard and Rashid Khan took one each. MI New York kept the scoring rate in check despite not taking too many wickets during the middle overs.
Chasing 155, MINY lost Monank Patel early on but Jahangir and Taylor steadied the innings with a 43-run partnership. They struggled for most parts of it and failed to get going. The run rate kept creeping and Taylor succumbed to the pressure. Jahangir and Pooran tried hard but MINY lost three wickets in quick time and were reduced to 90 for 5.
MINY had their hopes on Tim David, but he failed to get his side across the finish line. MINY have now lost 2 of their 3 games and will need to get their act together quickly. An excellent all-round effort with the ball by the Texas Super Kings sees them defend 154 with ease and get their second win of the tournament.
Rusty Theron set the tone for TSK by getting rid of Patel in the second over while debutant Zia-ul-Haq dismissed Steven Taylor. But it was Mohammad Mohsin who took two back-to-back wickets of Jahangir and Pollard to get TSK in a commanding position. Sams with 2 late wickets and Bravo with one did a terrific job to restrict MINY and give TSK their second win.
Devon Conway (TSK)
The New Zealand opener has had a dream day on the field today. He is officially the highest run-scorer in this tournament as of now with 129 runs under his belt. He notched up a very delightful cameo of 74 (55) to steer his side to a competitive total. He also had a good day behind the stumps taking a catch and effecting a stumping of Shayan Jahangir and Monak Patel respectively.
Faf du Plessis (TSK)
Faf had a forgettable day with the bat and could muster only 8 runs in 9 balls before being knocked over by his countryman Rabada. He fell during the 3rd over of the match while trying to be innovative. It was not the greatest of deliveries from Rabada but Faf pre-meditated the lap and because the ball was so full, he couldn’t get bat on it. In the end, the ball crashed into the stumps and he had to trudge back to the pavilion.
David Miller (TSK)
Miller got a decent start with the bat but couldn’t go on to score a big one. He scored 17 (15) at a strike rate of 113 which involved one four and no six. He fell to Rabada during the 16th over after slicing a wide yorker straight to the hands of Hammad Azam at deep backward point.
Mitchell Santner (TSK)
Santner played a dazzling cameo of 27 (13) at the fag end of the innings which helped TSK sail past the 150-run mark. He scored at a strike rate of 207.69 which involved 1 four and 2 sixes. However, he only bowled 2 overs with the ball and conceded 17 without picking up a wicket.
Dwayne Bravo (TSK)
Bravo had a relatively average day on the field. He couldn't fetch a lot of runs as per his liking and was dismissed on 5 by Trent Boult. He came in to bowl and conceded 33 in his allotted overs while picking up a solitary wicket of Hammad Azam.
Daniel Sams (TSK)
The tall Aussie all-rounder could only score 1 run with the bat but his major contribution came with the ball during the second innings. He bowled a tight spell of 2/15 in his four overs going at just around 3.75 RPO. His two wickets in the final over of the match decimated New York’s dwindling hopes of winning the match.
Rusty Theron (TSK)
Rusty did not get a chance to bat but had quite an impact with the ball. He bowled a tidy spell on 1/18 in his 3-over spell which included 10 dot balls. He only conceded two boundaries and 2 wides in his entire spell and picked up the valuable wicket of Monak Patel.
Nicholas Pooran (MINY)
Pooran would be absolutely livid with himself after running himself out at a crucial moment of the game. Before being dismissed, he scored 19 off 15 balls which included 1 six. His dismissal at such a critical juncture resulted in the game slipping away from MI New York’s grasp.
Tim David (MINY)
David was certainly the danger man to contend with for TSK. He tried to break the shackles but fell to Sams in the final over of the match. He scored 24 (19) balls which included 1 four and 1 six.
Keiron Pollard (MINY)
Pollard had a relatively good day with the ball but the same cannot be said about his batting. He was dismissed on a golden duck by Mohammad Mohsin as he was trapped plumb in front of the stumps. He bowled a tidy spell of 3 overs where he conceded just 17 runs and picked up a vital wicket of Chetty during the 9th over.
Hammad Azam (MINY)
Azam managed to accumulate 13 runs in 12 deliveries before being dismissed by Bravo during the 17th over. On the field, he pulled off an amazing diving catch to his right at point region to effect the dismissal of David Miller.
Rashid Khan (MINY)
Rashid was slightly off-colour with the ball picking up just one wicket and going at almost around 8 RPO. he bowled a peach of a delivery to dismiss the in-form Conway against the run of play. Khan tried to give it his all with the bat in the final overs but could only scavenge 13 in 9 balls which included 2 boundaries.
Kagiso Rabada (MINY)
Rabada bowled a tidy spell along with his counterpart Boult and gave away 30 runs in 4 overs while picking up two prize wickets of Du Plessis and Miller. He went at around 7.5 RPO and conceded only 2 fours and 1 six in his entire spell. He was dismissed by Sams on a golden duck while trying to go ballistic.
Trent Boult (MINY)
Boult was also economical with the ball, going at a touch under 7.5 with two prize wickets of Bravo and Sams to his name. He bowled a brilliant last over in the first innings to restrict Texas under 160. With the bat, he made a paltry contribution of 2 (3).
Ehsan Adil (MINY)
Adil did not get a chance to bat but proved to be very expensive with the ball. He bowled waywardly and paid the price for being consistent. In just 2 overs, he conceded 21 runs and conceded 4 boundaries while going wicketless.
Note: Domestic players playing for the USA team have not been featured in the article
