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| @Owen and Goss shaking hands during a match vs TSK MLC2025 |
Match At a Glance 🏏
- Venue: Cricket stadium Grand Prairie, Dallas which is a neutral, batting friendly venue with clear skies and warm conditions.
- Match: MLC 2025, Match 13 (Day/night T20) 022 June, pitch was favorable to batters in both innings.
- Outcome: Washington freedom pursued 221, they got 223/3 in 19.4 overs. Margins of victory: 7 wickets
- Player of the Match: Mitchell Owen with a glorious all round performance of 89 off 52 balls and 3 wickets for 33 runs.
The Batting Bonanza of Texas Super Kings
The dominance of powerplay ( 1- 6 Overs)
- Firing up fireworks: Smit Patel and Faf du Plessis staged a 55-run partnership off 26 balls with du Plessis still not out 69 off 31 (8x4, 4x6). At the first strategic timeout, TSK was rocking on 66/1
- Explosive strike rate: The strike rate of du Plessis skyrocketed to more than 222, which kept TSK well in the lead .
- Mid-innings inning: With du Plessis out, Marcus Stoinis (32 off 24) and Milind Kumar (31 off 18) came together to take the score beyond 159/4 in the 15th over
- Blast at the end: Shubham Ranjane hit 26 in 10, and boosted the score to 220/6 in a chase-friendly innings
- Bowling response - vain efforts
- Washington spearhead Mitchell Owen took three important scalps (Patel, du Plessis, Ferreira) at the economy of 11.00 in 3 overs
- Glenn Maxwell also contributed two wickets at 35 and Rachin Ravindra also contributed; however, this could not stop the flow of TSK innings
A Record-breaking Chase with Freedom
Early momentum :
- Firm underpinnings: Rachin Ravindra (11 off 6) and Owen gave a calculated opening stand, with the pair putting 38 runs on the board in the process
- First wicket: Ravindra was dismissed when he had stabilized the innings in the initial period (4.3 overs) .
Main partnership :
Owen and Gous take charge: Mitchell Owen (89 off 52) and Andries Gous (80* off 45) went on to score an enormous 165 run partnership in the second wicket
Mid-match blitz: They scored 56 runs in overs 12-13 (five sixes and three fours) and destroyed any hopes of TSK.
Fifty in a hurry: Owen reached his fifty in 35 balls and Gous in 27 balls
Climactic finish:
Owen: At the 14.1 over mark, Adam Milne bowled the ball to claim the wicket of Owen following a massive 89 runs knock
Squeaky bum: Gous cooled his heels till the finish and ended on 80* with Glenn Phillips contributing a useful 12* to take them to 223/3. The pursuit required 11 off the final 7 deliveries. Phillips walloped a boundary to win the match
Important & Key Moments:
Mitchell Owen -The architect
With ball: 3/33 with important wickets such as Patel and du Plessis
With bat: Bomber 89 of 52 balls with a mind blowing strike rate (171.15), fastest ever run chase in MLC
Andries Gous - Support band turned star
Batting brilliance: 80* off 45, a strike rate of 177.77, second pillar after Owen .
The partnership influence: Owen-Gous stand changed momentum of the chase totally.
Faf du Plessis - Single flame of Texas
Excellent blitz: 69 in 31, and this put TSK in the runnings
The collapse was triggered by loneliness on his part at a crucial stage.
Other exemplary efforts:
Marcus Stoinis and Milind Kumar (TSK): 32 and 31 respectively constructed TSK 220, but not to the extent of scaring Freedom
Glenn Maxwell (Freedom): 2/35 with ball, added late-innings batting appearance (20 off 12)
Records and Highlights of Statistics:
Season implications :
- All-time chase by Freedom: The team broke the previous record of 201. The highest score is 223/3 now .
- Owen: all round: Prominent in both fields; his 89* was a career best.
- Two half tons: Unusual alliance; Owen and Gous were involved in an almost 170 run stand in only 110 balls.
- Strike rate: Owen (171.15), Gous (177.77), du Plessis (222+) a demonstration of T20 attack mode
- Toss strategy: Freedom chose to field under lights, expecting dew and hunting an advantage-they were right on
- Change of bowling: It was worth attacking du Plessis early. The successes of Owen in large phases were through mixed overs. Maxwell distributed his brakes and claimed wickets during the middle overs
- Aggression in batting: Rather than cautious pacing, Owen and Gous went on the offensive against bowlers after the 7 th over-dominance in the night.
- Slip‑ups of TSK: Two missed opportunities (particularly of Ferreira) were costly; du Plissis regretted having missed some initial edges
Season implications :
- MLC positions: Freedom jump into first positions with four victories in five matches; TSK is on 3-2
- Playoff momentum: The pursuit by Freedom carried with it the message that they were determined to defend their title; TSK needs to pull it together in terms of bowling and under lights.
- Psychological advantage: A mammoth target to hunt down creates confidence prior to the remaining double round robin matches of the season (34 matches left to play).
Quotes & Responses:
- Owen (POTM): Saw the first few overs testy, but kept it simple, aimed short side, and “was very fortunate with half-volleys and two missed chances”
- Maxwell (Freedom skipper): Disappointing bowling, chase was a little easier under the lights, du Plessis showed a lot of fight, and there are lots of good things and places to improve
- du Plessis (TSK skipper): Said he felt the decision to toss earlier in the lights had gone against them and that his dropped catches and that of Ferreira were a huge blow. Hopes to the future
What’s Next?
- Freedom: The ride so far has been on the top, and they would seek to keep it going, shore up bowling to suit the batting prowess.
- Super Kings: Fielding will have to be more compact, bowling depth to chase games shall be most important; they will have to defend under pressure.
Final Thoughts:
This confrontation will go down in the history of MLC as one of the memorable moments - a fireworks record chase, driven by Owen and Gous. It strengthened the credentials of Washington Freedom as favorites in the tournament and demonstrated the dramatic, fan friendly possibilities of American cricket. To Texas Super Kings, it was an eye-opener on how tough and accurate they had to be in this T20 league and especially at night in Grand Prairie. And with that walk‑off boundary with vibrant stadium lights, one has never seen a more electrifying cricket in the U.S.
Brief Scores :
Texas Super Kings Innings: 220/6 (20 Overs) Faf du plessis 69 off 31 balls (8 Fours & 4 Sixes), Marcus Stoinis 32 off 24 Balls (4 Fours & 1 Six)
Washington Freedom Bowling: Mitchell Owen 3/33 (3 Overs), Glenn Maxwell 2/35 (4 Overs)
Washington Freedom innings: 223/3 (19.4 Overs) Mitchell Owen 89 off 52 Balls (8 Fours & 5 Sixes), Andries Gous 80* off 45 Balls ( 6 Fours & 4 Sixes)
Texas Super Kings Bowling: Adam Milne 3/42 (4 Overs)
Player of the Match: Mitchell Owen
Result: Washington Freedom Won by 7 WIckets