Dallas: Trent Boult's 4-fer and Dewald Brevis' 41-ball 57 helped MI New York defeat Washington Freedom in MLC 2023. At Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, MI New York scored 141 for 7 in their first at-bat before holding Washington Freedom to 125 for 9 to advance to Challenger.
The ball was handled tightly by Marco Jansen, Justin Dill, and Saurabh Netravalkar, preventing the MINY top order batters from getting going unhindered.
Monank Patel was run out in the third over after his partner sent him back, and Nicholas Pooran was caught by Netravalkar shortly after the powerplay, ending the captain's shaky stay during which he managed to score just one run in ten balls.
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In the final over of the powerplay, Shayan Jahangir, who had initially appeared uneasy, had found his footing and blasted three boundaries off Anrich Nortje. However, given that MI New York could only muster 39 runs in the first nine overs, that continued to be a strange occurrence.
Jahangir's attempt to exert too much effort backfired when he missed his reverse sweep and was caught legbefore by Akeal Hosein.
From that point on, Brevis ran the show alone. He drove Moises Henriques for a six over the mid wicket fence and followed it up with a boundary over extra cover. He pushed a six off Hosein down the ground two overs later and then stepped outside to find a four.
He then pulled off a short delivery from the pacer for a six and lofted a full delivery from Nortje over extra cover. Before being dismissed, Tim David joined him and muscled a few sixes, including one that departed the stadium, to lay the foundation for the team's respectable total.
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However, despite losing Matthew Short early, Washington Freedom made a steady start to the run chase. In their 34-run partnership for the second wicket, Andries Gous and Mukhtar Ahmed plodded along at about a run per ball.
Mukhtar and Glenn Phillips made sure Freedom continued to advance without incident until the halfway point even after Gous fell in the eighth over. The latter, however, ran out while attempting a quick single, and a collapse was set off by Kenjige's excellent throw from backward point.
All smiles for the men in blue ???? ????
— Major League Cricket (@MLCricket) July 28, 2023
They eliminate the Washington Freedom and progress to the Challenger tomorrow ???? #MLC2023 pic.twitter.com/Y4D9FtgNjE
He was out for the past 3 games but stepped up today in grand fashion ????
— Major League Cricket (@MLCricket) July 28, 2023
Dewald Brevis wins the Player of the Match award for his 5️⃣0️⃣ in today’s eliminator#MLC2023 pic.twitter.com/OTyvnxN0ui
Later in the over, Henriques cut a delivery from David Wiese back onto his stumps, and in the following over, Kenjige trapped Obus Pienaar leg-before. The chase was unsuccessfully revived by Phillips and Hosein due to Boult's slower delivery. He timed the shot poorly and missed the target while attempting a big heave.
Marco Jansen's two sixes and a boundary gave the chase some life, but Boult ended that threat in the penultimate over. He got rid of Hosein and Jansen, allowed just three runs to be scored in the over, and left Freedom needing 22 runs in the final over. Their lower order ultimately fell 16 runs short of the total, which was far beyond their ability to reach.
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