San Francisco Unicorns Qualify for MLC 2025 Playoffs

San Francisco Unicorns continued their unbeaten streak in the MLC 2025, storming into the playoffs with a convincing 32-run win over the Seattle Orcas in Dallas on Wednesday night. The Unicorns have now won all six of their league games, while the Orcas remain winless, suffering their fifth consecutive defeat and staying rooted at the bottom of the table.

β€œπ‘Ύπ’†β€™π’—π’† 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 π’‘π’π’‚π’šπ’Šπ’π’ˆ π’”π’Žπ’‚π’“π’• π’„π’“π’Šπ’„π’Œπ’†π’• 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’”π’•π’‚π’šπ’Šπ’π’ˆ π’„π’‚π’π’Ž π’Šπ’ 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 π’Žπ’π’Žπ’†π’π’•π’”,” π’”π’‚π’Šπ’… π‘Όπ’π’Šπ’„π’π’“π’π’” π’„π’‚π’‘π’•π’‚π’Šπ’ π‘΄π’‚π’•π’•π’‰π’†π’˜ 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’˜π’Šπ’.

Short and Shepherd Build a Solid Foundation

Opting to bat first, Unicorns were rocked early when Finn Allen departed in the second over. But Matthew Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk stitched together a 68-run partnership that brought stability and momentum. Fraser-McGurk was dismissed for 34 off 21 by Harmeet Singh, triggering a mini-collapse as the Unicorns slumped from 86 for 1 to 103 for 6.

Short, who hit 7 fours and 2 sixes, contributed a valuable 52 before falling in the same over that saw Harmeet dismiss Hassan Khan as well.

β€œπ‘Ύπ’† 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒓 π’˜π’‚π’š π’Šπ’ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’Žπ’Šπ’…π’…π’π’†, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’π’π’˜π’†π’“ 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 π’…π’Šπ’… 𝒂 π’ƒπ’“π’Šπ’π’π’Šπ’‚π’π’• 𝒋𝒐𝒃 π’“π’†π’„π’π’—π’†π’“π’Šπ’π’ˆ,” π’”π’‚π’Šπ’… 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕.

Shepherd’s Fireworks Push Unicorns to 176

Romario Shepherd stepped up under pressure, hammering 56 off just 31 balls including four sixes and four fours. His explosive innings helped push Unicorns to 176 for 8, a total that proved to be more than sufficient. Harmeet Singh (3 for 22) and Gerald Coetzee (3 for 34) were the pick of the bowlers for the Orcas.

β€œπ‘° 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 π’•π’“π’Šπ’†π’… 𝒕𝒐 π’”π’•π’‚π’š π’‘π’π’”π’Šπ’•π’Šπ’—π’† 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒉 π’Šπ’ π’…π’–π’“π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔,” 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒅 π’”π’‚π’Šπ’… 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 π’‰π’Šπ’” π’Šπ’π’π’Šπ’π’ˆπ’”.

Orcas Collapse Despite Promising Start

Chasing 177, the Orcas looked promising early on with Shayan Jahangir smashing 40 off 22 balls, taking 29 runs from the first two overs. But Shepherd broke the stand by removing Jahangir in the seventh over.

The next over proved decisive. Short picked up two wickets in quick succession, dismissing both David Warner and Kyle Mayers, halting Orcas’ momentum completely.

β€œπ‘»π’‰π’‚π’• 𝒅𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆 π’”π’•π’“π’Šπ’Œπ’† π’“π’†π’‚π’π’π’š 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’Žπ’‚π’•π’„π’‰ π’Šπ’ 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒓,” 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕.

Rauf Cleans Up with Four-Wicket Blitz

The Orcas kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Shimron Hetmyer and Sujit Nayak tried to rebuild but couldn’t handle the pressure. Haris Rauf, who had already dismissed Klaasen, cleaned up the tail with three more wickets, ending with 4 for 32.

He removed Hetmyer, Coetzee, and Cameron Gannon in quick succession, sealing the win for the Unicorns.

β€œπ‘Ύπ’† 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 π’”π’•π’–π’„π’Œ 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’‘π’π’‚π’β€”π’‰π’Šπ’• 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’“π’Šπ’ˆπ’‰π’• π’π’†π’π’ˆπ’•π’‰π’” 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’‘π’Šπ’•π’„π’‰ 𝒅𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕,” π’”π’‚π’Šπ’… 𝑹𝒂𝒖𝒇 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 π’‰π’Šπ’” π’Žπ’‚π’•π’„π’‰-π’˜π’Šπ’π’π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒍.

A Playoff Spot Secured

With this result, San Francisco Unicorns became the first team to qualify for the MLC 2025 playoffs, while the Seattle Orcas continue their disappointing campaign, still searching for their first win.

β€œπ‘»π’‰π’Šπ’” π’ˆπ’“π’π’–π’‘ 𝒉𝒂𝒔 π’ƒπ’†π’π’Šπ’†π’‡ 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’Žπ’π’Žπ’†π’π’•π’–π’Ž. 𝑾𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 π’šπ’†π’•,” 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒅.

Also Read: Suryakumar Yadav Undergoes Successful Sports Hernia Surgery

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here