[Watch] MINY contingent including Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga and Tim David celebrate in dressing after thumping win vs WAF in MLC 2023

MI New York (MINY) registered a comprehensive eight-wicket victory against Washington Freedom (WAF) in the 13th match of Major League Cricket (MLC) 2023.

In a crucial game, MINY bowled first after winning the toss. Washington Freedom managed to post a decent total of 160/6 in 20 overs. Glenn Phillips (47) and Moises Henriques (32) chipped in with valuable contributions. Captain Pollard scalped two wickets while the rest of the four bowlers took one wicket each.

Monank Patel (44) and Shayan Jahangir (29) made a brisk start with a 67-run opening partnership for MINY in the chase of 161. WAF spinners Dane Piedt and Akeal Hosein dismissed the duo to get their side back into the contest.

However, Nicholas Pooran (62* in 33 balls) played a match-winning knock to power his side to victory in just 15.3 overs. Kieron Pollard (21*) provided able support for him in the end.

The MINY franchise took to their Twitter handle to give fans a glimpse of the dressing room festivities following the match. In the video, the players can be seen cheerfully celebrating the win with each other. The franchise captioned the post:

"MI Tradition. MI New York #MINewYork #OneFamily."

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The playing surface was a bit up and down: MINY captain Kieron Pollard after winning against WAF

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Pollard revealed that the surface was a bit two-paced and tacky. He emphasized the importance of not worrying too much about the pitch and playing positively in such conditions and said:

"The playing surface was a bit up and down here. We can't do anything about it. All we can do is keep our attitude positive. You need to play with a straight bat on such surfaces. Sometimes, it can get a bit poisonous to be talking too much about the pitch, we can get into a negative mindset.

He added:

"We took a punt on fielding and they probably got 15 runs too much. But kudos to the guys. We had a conversation on how to go about it, especially against the left-arm seamer. Pooran coming up the order and finishing the game was fantastic. Sending him up at 3 was always the plan, it was a tactical decision."

MINY are currently third in the points table with four points from as many games. They will face Seattle Orcas in their final league game on July 25.