MLC 2023: How did the international players fare in San Francisco Unicorns vs MI New York, Match 2?

The second game of the star-studded pint-sized 2023 MLC edition kicked off between San Francisco Unicorns and MI New York on July 15. Grand Prairie Cricket Ground was the venue that hosted this blockbuster match.

The game turned out to be a massive run feast as over 400 runs were scored in both innings. Fans were surely on the edge of their seats as they saw the ball disappearing out of the ground from time to time. San Francisco Unicorns blasted their way to a commanding score of 215 with the loss of only five wickets.

Corey Anderson and Shadab Khan launched a scathing attack on the MI New York bowlers. The duo put on a groundbreaking partnership of 129 (58) to propel the Unicorns to a powerful first innings score.

MI New York were in no mood to give up and were ready to fight till the end. They recovered well after losing two early wickets as Dewald Brewis scored an impressive 32 (25). Nicholas Pooran (40) and Keiron Pollard (48) kept the engine running during the middle overs.

Tim David (53) went ballistic at the fag end of the innings striking at an astronomically high strike rate of 190. However, MI were unable to keep up with the required run rate and lost the game by 22 runs.

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Finn Allen (SFU)

The New Zealand opener perished early on scoring 10 (5) as he was dismissed by Rabada in the fourth over of the match. His brief innings featured only a couple of boundaries.

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Matthew Wade (SFU)

Wade became yet another victim of Rabada as he was trapped plumb in front of the stumps for 5. He faced only 6 balls in the match and scored just one boundary.

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Marcus Stoinis (SFU)

Stoinis couldn’t get going with the bat and with the ball either. He struggled to cope with the pace of Trent Boult and was castled inside the third over. He could only score a paltry knock of 6 (7). And with the ball in hand, Stoinis conceded 40 in his allotted four overs and failed to pick up a single wicket.

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Aaron Finch (SFU)

Aaron Finch Press Conference

The San Francisco Unicorns’ skipper was just able to hit one solitary six before being dismissed by Sarabjit Ladda on 9. He was dismissed on the last ball of the 7th over when he went after a slowly tossed-up delivery out side off stump. Pollard was waiting for him at wide long on region who took the catch quite easily in the end.

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Corey Anderson (SFU)

The former New Zealand all-rounder, Corey Anderson was in scintillating form in this game. He notched up 91* off 52 balls at a breathtaking strike rate of 175. His innings included four fours and seven sixes. His dazzling cameo helped SFU post a daunting total of 215.

Anderson was later adjudged player of the match for his exceptional batting performance which saw his side win by a comfortable margin of 22 runs.

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Shadab Khan (SFU)

The Pakistani leg-spin bowling all-rounder had a ball of a game on Friday. He partnered with Anderson and registered a robust 129-run stand which gave San Francisco a much-needed platform for posting a challenging total. He scored 61 (30) at an explosive strike rate of 203.3 which included 4 fours and 5 sixes.

He was decent with the ball too picking up a wicket while erring marginally on the expensive side going at almost 10 RPO.

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Nicholas Pooran (MINY)

Pooran played a valiant knock of 40 (28), which included two fours and three sixes. Together with Pollard, the West Indian batting wizard was able to steady the ship after the loss of quick wickets. His flamboyant cameo eventually came to an end during the 12th over when he was dismissed by Plunkett.

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Kieron Pollard (MINY)

Pollard had a decent outing with the bat scoring at an exhilarating strike rate of 177.7. He played a quickfire cameo of 48 (27) which featured 2 fours and 4 sixes. He even got a chance to bowl as well conceding 25 runs in 3 overs while going wicketless.

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Tim David (MINY)

Tim David played an explosive innings of 53 (28) but failed to get his side over the line. He waged a valiant battle and stayed till the end to thwart the Unicorn’s bowling attack. His innings featured four fours and as many sixes and played all sorts of shorts around the park to terrorize the bowlers. Despite his heroic efforts with the bat, his side ended up on the losing side.

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Trent Boult (MINY)

Boult was tidy with the ball and picked up two wickets of Stoinis and Shadab Khan while conceding at almost 9.5 RPO. He was a touch on the higher side conceding 6 boundaries but managed to chip in with timely breakthroughs. He did not get a chance to bat in today’s game.

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Kagiso Rabada (MINY)

Rabada bowled with a lot of venom and pace. He returned figures of 2/32 while being moderately economical at 8 RPO. He picked up the prize wickets of Allen and Wade. Just like Boult, he did not get a chance to bat in today’s game either.

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Liam Plunkett (SFU)

Plunkett did not get a chance to bat but had a tremendous impact with the ball. He returned figures of 2/30 and picked up vital wickets. He dismissed Pollard and Pooran just when they were beginning to look threatening. In the end, his game-changing iver turned their fortune as they were comfortably able to get over the line.

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Haris Rauf (SFU)

Rauf bowled his full quota of overs but failed to pick up his maiden wicket of the MLC tournament. He conceded 34 runs in his allotted four overs, which featured 12 dots.

Note: Domestic players playing for the USA team have not been featured in the article