Washington Freedom go down to San Francisco Unicorns in MLC 2025 season opener

Defending champions Washington Freedom put up a spirited performance but went down against San Francisco Unicorns in the opening game of the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025 season at the Oakland Coliseum in California on Thursday.

Despite valiant efforts from our bowlers, the Unicorns posted 269/5 in their 20 overs courtesy of opening batter Finn Allen’s century (151).

In reply, Rachin Ravindra (42) and Mitchell Owen (39) provided us with a sensational start before we lost wickets at regular intervals and were later bowled out for 146.

Opting to bowl first, Jack Edwards struck early as he dismissed Tim Seifert with the help of a fine catch by captain Glenn Maxwell in the third over.

Last season’s top wicket-taker, Saurabh Netravalkar joined the party as he bagged the massive wicket of Jake Fraser-McGurk to reduce the Unicorns to 65/2 before the end of the powerplay.

After losing two wickets, Finn Allen and Sanjay Krishnamurthi stitched an 88-run stand for the Unicorns. Later, in the 12th over, Ian Holland provided us with the much-needed breakthrough as he removed Krishnamurthi.

Edwards then claimed his second wicket of the game as he cleaned up Cooper Connolly in the 15th over.

Despite best efforts from our bowlers, the Unicorns rode on Allen’s 151 and Hassan Khan’s unbeaten 38 to post 269/5 in their 20 overs. Edwards was our standout bowler as he finished with figures of 2/39.

Chasing 270, Owen and Ravindra got us off to a blazing start as our opening duo smashed the bowlers to all parts of the ground.

Owen started the proceedings with consecutive fours off Carmi le Roux, and then smashed Xavier Bartlett for a maximum in the following over. He then hammered Carmi le Roux for two sixes and two fours to accumulate 20 runs in the third over.

At the other end, Ravindra continued the onslaught in the next over as he clobbered Bartlett for four consecutive maximums.

Our swashbuckling pair forged a blitzkrieg 80-run opening stand before Ravindra fell for a quick-fire 42 off just 17 balls in the sixth over.

Batting at No.3, Edwards continued the momentum as he hit Liam Plunkett for a six, and then slammed Hassan Khan for a maximum, which kept us in the hunt.

However, we soon suffered a huge blow as Owen departed after a well-made 39.

From thereon, we lost wickets at regular intervals and could only manage 146, succumbing to a tough defeat.

After a challenging outing, we will look to quickly bounce back against the Seattle Orcas at the Oakland Coliseum in California on Saturday.

San Francisco Unicorns vs Washington Freedom, MLC 2025, brief scores: SFU 269/5 in 20 overs (Finn Allen 151, Hassan Khan 38 not out; Jack Edwards 2/39) beat WF 146/10 in 13.1 overs (Rachin Ravindra 42, Mitchell Owen 39; Haris Rauf 3/30) by 123 runs.