With 12 runs needed off 6 balls for the title, Glenn Maxwell and Glenn Phillips were at the crease. The 22-year-old Rushil Ugaokar was bowling the final over. Naturally, the match seemed to be leaning toward the two powerful batsmen from Washington Freedom. But under pressure, Ugaokar kept his cool and bowled an exceptional final over. MI New York clinched the Major League Cricket trophy.
In Monday’s final in Dallas, played in the early hours Bangladesh time, Ugaokar’s brilliant bowling in the last over helped MI New York win by 5 runs. Chasing a target of 181, last season’s champions Washington managed only 175 runs.
In the decisive last over, Ugaokar gave away just 2 runs in the first 3 balls. With 3 balls left and 10 runs needed, Maxwell had no choice but to go for a big shot. Chasing a six, he failed to clear the boundary and was caught at deep mid-wicket.
New batsman Obed Pienaar kept a cool head and blocked the fifth ball for a dot, sparking celebrations among New York’s fielders. Though a boundary was scored on the final ball, the young US pacer’s efforts helped captain Nicholas Pooran’s team begin their championship celebrations.
This is MI franchise’s third trophy this year across different T20 tournaments. Earlier, MI Cape Town won the SA T20 Trophy, and Mumbai Indians secured the Women’s Premier League title.
After losing the toss and batting first, Quinton de Kock and Monank Patel added 72 runs for the opening stand. Patel fell after scoring 28 off 22 balls. De Kock contributed 77 runs off 46 balls, including 6 fours and 4 sixes.
Later, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard, and Michael Bracewell failed to keep the momentum, slowing the scoring rate. But thanks to Kunwarjit Singh’s late surge of 22 runs off 13 balls, New York reached 180.
Lockie Ferguson took 3 wickets.
In the chase, Washington suffered early blows. Trent Boult removed both Mitchell Waugh and Andres Gous in the first over while maintaining great rhythm.
Rachin Ravindra and Jake Edwards steadied the innings with an 84-run partnership. Edwards scored 33 runs off 22 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes before getting out.
Ravindra reached his fifty in just 24 balls but was dismissed in the 16th over after scoring 70 runs off 41 balls, including 8 fours and 2 sixes.
Maxwell and Phillips then took responsibility. With 41 runs needed off the last 3 overs, the duo scored 29 runs across the 18th and 19th overs. But they couldn’t finish the job in the final over. Notably, Phillips, who scored the bulk of the runs, didn’t face more than one ball in that last over.
Phillips remained unbeaten with 48 runs off 34 balls, hitting 5 sixes. Maxwell scored 15 runs off 16 balls.
