Fletcher’s Fireworks Crush Unicorns’ Playoff Plans
Andre Fletcher smashed a brilliant 118 as Los Angeles Knight Riders ended their MLC 2025 campaign with a thrilling 11-run (DLS) win over San Francisco Unicorns. It was just their second win of the tournament but came at a crucial cost to Unicorns, who missed a top-two finish due to the defeat.
Set a daunting target of 244, the Unicorns mounted a strong reply, but without Romario Shepherd – who injured his ankle while fielding – they fell short at 233 despite Sanjay Krishnamurthi’s explosive 92 off 39 balls.
“𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉. 𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒓,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑲𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝑹𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝑹𝒐𝒗𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍.
The match, reduced to 19 overs a side after a rain delay, witnessed a record 676 runs in Lauderhill – far exceeding previous games at the venue. Knight Riders’ innings was powered by Fletcher, Alex Hales (58), and Sherfane Rutherford (49), who posted a massive total of 243/3.
Krishnamurthi’s Blitz Not Enough for Unicorns
Despite an early collapse that saw them at 3 down quickly, the Unicorns found hope through Krishnamurthi’s belligerent knock. At one stage, they needed just 68 from five overs, but Jason Holder dismissed Krishnamurthi at a crucial time.
“𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆. 𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆,” 𝑼𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕-𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉.
Unicorns now move to the Eliminator against MI New York, while Knight Riders and Seattle Orcas bow out of the tournament. Washington Freedom and Texas Super Kings advance to Qualifier 1, with a direct ticket to the final on the line.
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