Saurabh Netravalkar picked up six wickets in the MLC (Source: Twitter)
In Match 11 of MLC 2023, Saurabh Netravalkar did the unthinkable and bowled one of the best spells of T20 cricket. He assisted Washington Freedom in defending a low score against San Francisco Unicorns, as they beat them by 30 runs. Batting first, Washington Freedom posted the score of 133 runs, losing 8 wickets, and with the kind of batters San Francisco had, it was not a big total but the bowlers of Washington Freedom responded astonishingly and bowled out them on just 103 runs in 19.5 overs.
A total team effort by Washington Freedom and this win shows, they played as a team and contributed in a hard fought win. Saurabh Netravalkar was undoubtedly the star of the match, without his magical spell, the result would have been very different. In the end, Washington Freedom accomplished a remarkable win, defending a below-par score with flair and precision. Their bowlers stepped up when it mattered the most, and their fielders provided essential support.
Saurabh Netravalkar was awarded the Man of the Match because of his brilliant bowling, and he said, "Our team’s motto is “fight until the last ball,” so I wasn’t thinking too hard about hitting a hard length. I was simply trying to get the perfect line and length.
A Sixer of Wickets: A Bowler's Unmatched Showmanship
Saurabh’s Wickets Pitch Map with batter type
Right from the first ball, Saurabh looked threatening against San Francisco Unicorns, he swung the ball and attacked the stump-line, causing trouble to the batsmen. He firstly took the big wickets of Marcus Stoinis and Shadab Khan on a similar kind of delivery, he bowled an inswinger from round the wicket, and both, Stoinis and Shadab got clean bowled trying for a drive through overs.
For Matthew Wade, he bowled a full and outside off delivery, Wade tried to hit him over cover point but Glenn Phillips ran quickly towards the ball and grabbed a stunner. He came back in the death overs and in the 19th over, he took his last 3 three wickets. Chaitanya Bishnoi was the first, and just after the ball, he took the wicket of Haris Rauf, and he almost snatched the hat-trick but unfortunately his bowling partner Anrich Nortje dropped the catch.
But he did not take much time in finishing the San Francisco innings, as he got the wicket of Liam Plunkett on the next ball and wrapped up the game before the completion of 20 overs, and concluded his amazing figures of 6 wickets by giving only 9 runs in 3.5 overs.
Conclusion
Saurabh Netravalkar’s six-wicket haul took Washington Freedom to the second spot, and they have joined the Seattle Orcas at the top of the table, and also have qualified for the playoffs for the first season of MLC 2023. Whereas, San Francisco Unicorns stayed at 4th and now their next game is must win to keep their hopes alive for the playoffs.
Till now, only Los Angeles Knight Riders are out of the league, however, the other three teams are still fighting for the other two spots, it will be interesting to find out which two teams will come out on top. MLC is in its last phase with only four league games left before the playoffs, and the next few days will decide the fortune of the teams.
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