Fletcher’s Blazing Century Sets the Tone
Phillips and Andre Fletcher put on a show for the Los Angeles Knight Riders, hammering a 60-ball 104 that formed the backbone of their total of 213 for 4 in the Major League Cricket 2025 clash. His century included seven fours and six sixes and came right after the team had suffered four defeats in five games.
He shared a massive 130-run opening partnership with Unmukt Chand, who contributed a steady 41 off 30 balls. However, despite this imposing platform, Knight Riders couldn’t get the job done.
“𝑶𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔, 𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉,” 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒔 𝑭𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈.
Russell’s Late Flourish and the Perfect Innings
Once Chand fell in the 13th over—“perhaps the best moment for Knight Riders, as it allowed their hitters to come in early”—Sherfane Rutherford chipped in with a rapid 20 off just 11 balls. Andre Russell finished with a punchy unbeaten 30 from 13 deliveries, helping the team cross 200 comfortably.
Knight Riders appeared to have the ideal batting display, but Washington Freedom were up for the challenge.
Freedom’s Fearless Reply
Facing a daunting chase, Washington Freedom started aggressively. Mitchell Owen blasted 43 off 16 balls, peppered with three fours and four sixes, while Rachin Ravindra added 18 from 12 to launch the innings with a brisk 51-run opening stand.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐—𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝑳𝑪 𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒂𝒚,” 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅.
Even after Owen departed, Andries Gous kept things moving along, making 31 off 27 deliveries as Freedom piled up 73 for 1 in the powerplay, edging ahead of Knight Riders’ 67 without loss.
Sangha’s Twist in the Tale
As the chase motored on, Glenn Maxwell ignited with a quickfire 42 off 23 balls, striking two fours and three sixes. However, Tanveer Sangha flipped the momentum in the 14th over by dismissing both Maxwell and Jack Edwards, leaving Freedom suddenly vulnerable.
“𝑨𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕, 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆’𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆,” 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅.
Phillips Finishes the Job in Dramatic Fashion
Glenn Phillips then took charge, calmly scoring an unbeaten 33 from 23 balls. Heading into the last over, Freedom needed just seven runs.
Andre Russell bowled it, starting with a wide. Obus Pienaar then cracked a four, reducing the equation to two needed from five deliveries. But three consecutive dot balls raised the tension sky-high—“Were we about to see a Super Over?”
Phillips and Pienaar kept their composure, each taking a single off the final two deliveries to complete a thrilling win.
“𝑰𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒅,” 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅.
Knight Riders Stay in Trouble
Despite Fletcher’s fireworks and Russell’s all-round effort, Los Angeles Knight Riders fell short yet again, remaining fifth on the table. Washington Freedom, meanwhile, leapt to second place and celebrated a memorable back-to-back run chase.
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