Fletcher's heroics fall short as Freedom seal last-ball thriller to climb the table

Dallas [US], June 27 (ANI): What Andre Fletcher did brilliantly, Mitchell Owen, Andries Gous, Glenn Maxwell, and Glenn Phillips managed to match and eventually surpass, albeit with a last-ball finish, as per ESPNcricinfo.

Advertisement

Despite a commanding 60-ball 104 from Fletcher, the Los Angeles Knight Riders' total of 213/4 wasn't quite enough. Washington Freedom, riding high on confidence after pulling off Major League Cricket's (MLC) biggest-ever chase just days earlier, this time with a second successive high-scoring pursuit. The thrilling win pushed them to second in the standings, while the Knight Riders, despite putting up their best batting performance of the season, remained at No. 5.

To chase down a total of 214 required a powerful start, and Freedom delivered exactly that. Mitchell Owen exploded out of the blocks with a breathtaking 16-ball 43, laced with three fours and four sixes, in a 51-run opening stand with Rachin Ravindra, who chipped in with a quick 18 off 12. That set the tone, and with Gous continuing the momentum, Freedom posted a powerplay score of 73/1, slightly better than the Knight Riders' 67/0.

The required rate hovered around 10 to 11 runs per over, but Freedom maintained the tempo. Gous departed after a composed 31 off 27, but Glenn Maxwell picked up the pace with a 23-ball 42, peppered with two fours and three sixes.

However, the game swung in the 14th over when Tanveer Sangha struck twice, removing Jack Edwards and Maxwell to give Knight Riders a sniff but Glenn Phillips, calm under pressure, steadied the innings with an unbeaten 33 off 23 balls.

Heading into the final over, Freedom needed just seven runs. Andre Russell took the ball and began with a wide, followed by a boundary from Obus Pienaar. With just two needed off five balls, things looked done but Russell fired back with three dot balls, bringing it down to two needed off two deliveries. Singles from Pienaar and Phillips off the last two balls sealed a sensational win.

On most days, Fletcher's 104 off 60 balls after which he voluntarily retired out would have been enough. Partnering with Unmukt Chand, who made 41 off 30 in a 130-run opening stand that lasted 12.2 overs, Fletcher laid the perfect platform. Cameos from Sherfane Rutherford (20 off 11) and Russell (30* off 13) ensured the Knight Riders crossed the 210-mark.

Chand's innings, though steady, lacked urgency, he struck at 136.66 with just three fours and one six, a relatively modest strike rate in a game where the scoring across innings was well above ten an over. His dismissal in the 13th over, with Fletcher already cruising on 83 off 45, may have actually benefited the team, allowing power-hitters like Rutherford and Russell to take over.

Fletcher reached his century in the 18th over and retired out one ball later, having struck seven fours and six sixes. Russell finished the innings with fireworks and returned to deliver a tense final over, but even his all-round brilliance couldn't stop the Knight Riders from slipping to another defeat. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)