Fletcher's Blazing 118 Ends Knight Riders' Campaign on a High, Derails Unicorns' Top-Two Hopes

Fletcher's Blazing 118 Ends Knight Riders' Campaign on a High, Derails Unicorns' Top-Two Hopes

Andre Fletcher's scintillating century powered Los Angeles Knight Riders to a stunning 11-run win over San Francisco Unicorns (via DLS method) in the final league game of Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025. While the win was only Knight Riders’ second of the tournament, it came at a crucial juncture — denying the Unicorns a top-two finish and forcing them into the Eliminator.

Fletcher hammered 118 off just 58 balls, his second century of the tournament, anchoring Knight Riders to a mammoth 243 for 3. He was well supported by Alex Hales (58 off 26) and Sherfane Rutherford (49 off 28), as the trio tore into the Unicorns’ bowling attack in a rain-shortened, 19-over-a-side clash. Fletcher reached his ton with a flurry of sixes and finished with ten of them, alongside seven boundaries.

The pitch at Lauderhill witnessed a run-fest, with a combined total of 676 runs — far exceeding the venue’s previous highest innings score of 188 across the season.

San Francisco Unicorns’ chase got off to a disastrous start. Young left-arm spinner Karthik Gattepalli, on MLC debut, struck twice in his first over to remove Matthew Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk after Dominic Drakes had dismissed Finn Allen in the opening over. Gattepalli finished with impressive figures of 3 for 31.

Despite the early setbacks, Sanjay Krishnamurthi almost single-handedly kept the chase alive with a blistering 92 off 40 balls, featuring seven fours and seven sixes. At the end of the 14th over, Unicorns needed 68 runs off five overs with Krishnamurthi well set. However, Jason Holder dismissed him with the first ball of the 15th, derailing the momentum.

Unicorns still fought back through Xavier Bartlett, who smashed Corne Dry for three sixes and a four in a single over, and contributions from Hammad Azam (38 off 27) and Hassan Khan (35 off 17). However, they fell short at 233, missing the services of all-rounder Romario Shepherd, who injured his ankle attempting a catch and could not bat.

The defeat pushed Unicorns down to third place on the points table, setting them up for an Eliminator clash against MI New York. Meanwhile, top-ranked Washington Freedom will face Texas Super Kings in Qualifier 1, with the winner advancing directly to the final.

Los Angeles Knight Riders and Seattle Orcas bow out of MLC 2025, but not before Knight Riders left their mark with a thrilling finish to their campaign.

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