Undefeated Washington Freedom beat MI New York

By Moses Ochieng

Defending champions MI New York suffered their third loss in five games of the MLC 2024 season, being defeated by 94 runs by the undefeated Washington Freedom at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas. Led by another explosive performance from Travis Head, Freedom posted 182 runs before their bowlers dismissed a struggling MI New York line-up for just 88 in 13.3 overs. This victory, Freedom’s fourth in five games, secured their spot in the playoffs.

The only thing that went right for MI New York that day was the toss, which Kieron Pollard won, choosing to let Freedom bat first. After three quiet overs, Freedom had only 22 runs on the board before Travis Head hit Trent Boult for a four and a six. Despite this, Rashid Khan dismissed Steve Smith, and MINY managed to limit Freedom to 45 runs in the PowerPlay.

In the following two overs, Freedom scored only nine more runs before Head shifted gears. He hit three boundaries off Nostuhush Kenjige and followed with a six and a four off Ehsan Adil, reaching a half-century in 28 balls. Andries Gous, who had initially scored 19 off 21 balls, accelerated by hitting Rashid for two sixes in the 11th over, bringing the total to 100.

MINY fought back after Romario Shepherd dismissed Head for 54. Glenn Maxwell was then taken out by Rashid for 15 while Gous steadily approached his half-century. By the 17th over, Freedom had only 137 runs. However, the last three overs yielded 45 runs, with Rachin Ravindra adding a quick 31 off 14 balls, including two sixes and two fours. Gous was dismissed on the last ball of the innings for a 48-ball 59 but had helped push the score past 180.

Freedom ended up with far more runs than they anticipated on a pitch that offered good support to the seamers. The holders were never in the chase, as their top six batters scored 0, 3, 4, 2, 4, and 4. They were 25 for 5 after the PowerPlay, and Jasdeep Singh quickly made it 25 for 6 by taking his third wicket, that of Pollard. Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, and Glenn Maxwell each claimed two wickets, and only Romario Shepherd’s 25 helped mitigate the damage in another dismal batting performance from MINY.

“Travis started really nicely. The new ball had something in it and they (MINY) went defensive against him. Gous batted well in the middle, Marco and Jasdeep gave us a good start with the ball. Our plan was to not allow them to get off to a flier and keep them in check. Marco bowls his best when he’s charging in and he got a good zip, Jasdeep too playing his first game was incredible, that powerplay set us up. We have achieved our first objective of qualifying for the playoffs and hopefully we keep going,” Washington Freedom batter Steve Smith said to the press.