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The Steve Smith-led Washington Freedom have been crowned 2024 Major League Cricket (MLC) champions after a dominant 96-run win over the San Francisco Unicorns at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
The skipper led from the front by scoring 88 off 52 balls to help Washington Freedom post 207-5 while the bowlers ran riot to bundle out the opposition for just 111 runs.
Corey Anderson won the toss and opted to bowl first. The decision initially paid dividends as Travis Head was dismissed early and the Freedom were placed at 86-3 at the halfway mark of the innings. However, Smith and Maxwell joined forces in the second half of the innings to pile misery on San Francisco Unicorns.
Maxwell's 22-ball 40-run cameo coupled with brisk knocks from Mukhtar Ahmed and Obus Pienaar ensured that the 200-run tally was breached.
Washington Freedom were as clinical with the ball as they were with the bat. San Francisco Unicorns struggled with the steep run rate from the word go and lost their entire top order inside five overs.
The left-arm pace duo of Marco Jansen and Saurabh Netravalkar's damage in the powerplay was more than enough for Washington Freedom to pile on the pressure. The Anderson-led side kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were tottering at 68-7 at the halfway mark.
Cameos from Pat Cummins and Carmi le Roux helped the side register a three figure total, but it soon became a matter of when and not if. Rachin Ravindra wrapped things up with his third wicket as he castled Juanoy Drysdale in the final ball of the 16th over.
"I said to them it will take a really good team to beat you this year" - Washington Freedom head coach Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting played a huge role behind the scenes with the Australian core of Travis Head, skipper Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell. The title comes across as a huge statement as the former Australia captain recently ended his stint with the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
"I came in late and left all the preparation to Shaun and Cameron White. Great feeling around the group, talking and learning cricket. I said to them it will take a really good team to beat you this year. Thrilled for the guys, they worked hard and thoroughly deserve to be champions," Ponting said after the title triumph.
"He has been brilliant. The way he played, he single-handedly won us the game with the bat. The way he has interacted with the whole group is something he should be proud of," Ponting said of Steve Smith
Texas Super Kings' Faf du Plessis ends the tournament as the leading scorer with 420 runs while Washington Freedom's Saurabh Netravalkar was the leading wicket-taker with 15 scalps to his name.
