Washington Freedom dominated Seattle Orcas, securing an eight-wicket victory in a quick chase to climb to second place on the MLC 2025 points table. The Orcas were bowled out for just 82 runs, with their batting line-up faltering without Shimron Hetmyer, who had led the side to three consecutive wins previously.
Bowling Masterclass Sets the Tone
Washington Freedom elected to bowl first, and their bowlers made an immediate impact. Saurabh Netravalkar dismissed Shayan Jahangir off the very first ball, setting the tone for the innings. Glenn Maxwell was ruthless, claiming three key wickets, including Aaron Jones and Steven Taylor, helping reduce Orcas to a precarious 21 for 5 after six overs.
Netravalkar complemented Maxwell perfectly, taking three wickets himself, finishing with impressive figures of 3 for 13. Jack Edwards also played his part with three wickets, including the dismissal of Heinrich Klaasen, the lone bright spot for Orcas who scored a resilient 48 runs.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚,” 𝑴𝒂𝒙𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉.
Swift Chase Seals the Win
Chasing a low target of 83, Freedom’s batsmen took control early. Despite losing Mitchell Owen cheaply, Rachin Ravindra and Mukhtar Ahmed built a steady partnership to take the chase forward. Ravindra scored a quick 32 off 23 balls before being dismissed, while Mukhtar remained unbeaten on 36 off 21 balls as Freedom completed the chase in just 9.2 overs.
Mukhtar reflected on the win, saying,
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒚.”
Despite the heavy loss, Orcas remain in the playoff hunt, positioned fourth after nine games, just ahead of fifth-placed MI New York.
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