'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAEAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAj/xAAVAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAf/aAAwDAQACEAMQAAAAo0L/AP/EAB8QAAEDAwUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMAAQIEESMyQlGS0f/aAAgBAQABPwANOG5cItb7G5UqQDyfEPpHxf/EABQRAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/2gAIAQIBAT8Af//EABURAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR/9oACAEDAQE/AK//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Texas Super Kings steamrolled Seattle Orcas in the final league stage match of the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2024 season on July 23 at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.
With the outcome, the Texas Super Kings moved to eight points to retain their number three position on the MLC 2024 points table. Washington Freedom and San Francisco Unicorns, with 11 points each, take the top two spots respectively on the six-team standings. Only NRR differentiates the two sides, with Freedom’s formidable 1.891 NRR placing them higher than the Unicorns (0.588).
Defending champions MI New York became the fourth team to qualify for the playoffs and they will now face the Texas Super Kings in the Eliminator. With two wins and a no-result from seven games, they managed to gather five points at an NRR of -0.451.
Los Angeles Knight Riders and Seattle Orcas bowed out of the competition at the end of the league stage by finishing at number five and six on the standings. While the Knight Riders secured an NRR of -0.710 with two wins, the Orcas sustained six defeats from seven league outings.
Calvin Savage piles on Seattle Orcas' pain with all-round brilliance
Batting first, Texas Super Kings lost opener Devon Conway off the first ball of the match to Orcas pacer Ayan Desai (2/30). Number three Joshua Tromp also departed the following over after tickling one behind off Cameron Gannon. Texas skipper Faf du Plessis led his team’s counterattacking recovery with 39 runs from 17 deliveries before the blistering opener became one of Keemo Paul’s (2/18) two victims of the evening.
Milind Kumar (29 off 28 balls), Marcus Stoinis (11 off 9 balls), and Mitchell Santner (15 off 16 balls) all failed to convert their confident starts into notable scores as the Super Kings slipped to 113/6 in 14.1 overs. Batting at number seven, Calvin Savage came up with a swift 45* from 27 balls to take his team to 177/8 by the completion of their innings.
Much like the Super Kings, the Seattle Orcas also lost opener Ryan Rickelton for a first-ball duck. However, the Orcas failed to recover from their top-order setback as they crashed to 67/5 at the halfway stage of the innings. Quinton de Kock and number three Shehan Jayasuriya struck identical 20s before their dismissals to Calvin Savage followed by the early departures of Michael Bracewell and captain Heinrich Klaasen.
Keemo Paul slogged a few in his 17-ball 25, but the Orcas merely managed to conjure 140/9 to fall 37 runs short of their target. For the Texas Super Kings, fast bowler Ottneil Baartman unfurled the spell of the innings with 3/20. Calvin Savage capped a brilliant all-round show with 2/23 while spinners Noor Ahmed (2/19) and Mitchell Santner (1/27) also reaped the spoils of the Orcas collapse with three wickets between them.
