Washington Freedom crush Orcas as Maxwell, Netravalkar star

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 π’Œπ’π’†π’˜ π’˜π’† 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 π’‚π’‘π’‘π’π’š 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 π’†π’‚π’“π’π’š, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’ƒπ’π’˜π’π’†π’“π’” 𝒆𝒙𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒔 π’‘π’†π’“π’‡π’†π’„π’•π’π’š,” π‘΄π’‚π’™π’˜π’†π’π’ π’”π’‚π’Šπ’… 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’Žπ’‚π’•π’„π’‰.

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 π’•π’‚π’“π’ˆπ’†π’• π’˜π’‚π’” π’”π’Žπ’‚π’π’, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 π’„π’“π’†π’…π’Šπ’• 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’ƒπ’π’˜π’π’†π’“π’” 𝒇𝒐𝒓 π’“π’†π’”π’•π’“π’Šπ’„π’•π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’•π’‰π’†π’Ž π’†π’‚π’“π’π’š. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 π’ˆπ’‚π’—π’† 𝒖𝒔 π’„π’π’π’‡π’Šπ’…π’†π’π’„π’† 𝒕𝒐 π’‡π’Šπ’π’Šπ’”π’‰ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’ˆπ’‚π’Žπ’† π’’π’–π’Šπ’„π’Œπ’π’š.”

Despite the heavy loss, Orcas remain in the playoff hunt, positioned fourth after nine games, just ahead of fifth-placed MI New York.

Also Read: Short and Bartlett Lead San Francisco Unicorns to Narrow Win Over Texas Super Kings

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