‌Pitch & Weather

It was a hot Texas evening with clear skies and temperatures soaring to around 36°C during the game. The surface was flat and dry and a belter for the batters with minimal seam movement. The batters had a great day with the ball nicely coming onto the bat with the shorter boundaries and the lightning outfield giving full value for their shots. Unsurprisingly, it was a run-fest under lights in Dallas.

Toss & Conditions

Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to bat first.

Lineups

Los Angeles Knight Riders: Unmukt Chand (wk), Alex Hales, Nitish Kumar, Saif Badar, Sherfane Rutherford, Rovman Powell, Andre Russell, Jason Holder (c), Shadley van Schalkwyk, Sunil Narine, Ali Khan

Washington Freedom: Mitchell Owen, Rachin Ravindra, Andries Gous (wk), Glenn Maxwell (c), Glenn Phillips, Jack Edwards, Obus Pienaar, Mukhtar Ahmed, Matthew Forde, Ian Holland, Saurabh Netravalkar 

Match Report

Washington Freedom secured their fifth win of the MLC 2025 season with a commanding 22-run victory over Los Angeles Knight Riders at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Friday. Mitchell Owen’s all-round brilliance, which included a 35-ball 66 and a three-wicket haul, headlined a high-octane contest loaded with runs and momentum swings.

Opting to bat on a placid Dallas surface, Washington’s top-order fired on all cylinders with Mitchell Owen continuing his golden form and punishing anything full or short. Rachin Ravindra was equally aggressive with a blistering 31 in 14 balls. Owen smashed five sixes and six fours to top-score for WSF while skipper Glenn Maxwell’s entertaining cameo of 44, which included four sixes and two fours and came at a strike rate of more than 200, ensured that the side finished at 213/5 in 20 overs. Andre Russell was the pick among the LAKR bowlers with a spell of 2/33 in four overs.

In pursuit of 214, Los Angeles began brightly with Alex Hales and Unmukt Chand adding 42 in four overs but once Hales departed LAKR never looked like chasing down the target. Chand, however, stood tall with a composed 64, playing some elegant drives and late cuts for his seven boundaries and two sixes, while Saif Badar added 28 from 16 balls. Owen struck with ball too as his crafty pace variations saw him claim Powell, Badar, and Holder halting LAKR’s surge. Ian Holland’s calm death-over spell ensured Knight Riders fell short, finishing at 191/9 despite Narine and van Schalkwyk’s late blows. Owen ended with figures of 3/30 in four overs while Holland and Maxwell picked up two wickets each as WSF moved to second in the MLC 2025 points table inching closer to a playoff spot.

Player of the Match

All-rounder Mitchell Owen was declared the Player of the Match for his entertaining half-century and three-wicket spell in a high-pressure game.

Scorecard