Texas Super Kings Triumph Over Seattle Orcas in MLC 2024

In the final league match of the Major League Cricket 2024 at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, the Texas Super Kings, led by Calvin Savage's all-around performance, secured a decisive 37-run victory over the Seattle Orcas. Despite a promising start by Quinton de Kock and Shehan Jayasuriya, the Super Kings' bowlers, including Ottneil Bartmann, Noor Ahmad, and Calvin Savage, effectively dismantled the Orcas' batting lineup. With this match, the Seattle Orcas concluded their campaign with one win and six losses, while the Texas Super Kings, with three wins and two losses, advanced to the eliminator against MI New York.

Chasing a target of 178, the Orcas stumbled early, losing Ryan Rickleton to Ottneil Bartman on the first ball. Jayasuriya and de Kock then steadied the innings, reaching 47/1 by the end of the powerplay. However, Savage dismissed Jayasuriya in the seventh over, and de Kock soon followed, leaving the team at 59/3 by the ninth over.

With the task becoming more difficult, Heinrich Klaasen and Matthew Bracewell were unable to stabilise the innings, falling to the spin of Mitchell Santner and Noor Ahmad, respectively. As the Orcas struggled at 67/5, Shubham Ranjane and Keemo Paul attempted to salvage the situation, but Ranjane was run out and Paul was bowled by Ahmad before the 17th over. The Orcas eventually ended their innings at 140/9, with Bartman taking two tail-end wickets to finish with figures of 3/20.

Earlier, the Texas Super Kings had a shaky start, losing openers Devon Conway and Joshua Tromp early. However, captain Faf du Plessis played a key role, hitting six boundaries and a six before being dismissed by Keemo Paul, leaving the team at 56/3 after the powerplay.

Milind Kumar contributed with a steady inning, scoring almost a run-a-ball, but fell as Keemo Paul's second wicket. Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Santner provided solid starts, but were unable to convert them into substantial scores, falling to Aryan Desai and Matthew Bracewell.

The most significant partnership came from Calvin Savage and Cameron Stevenson, who added 43 runs in the closing stages. Savage's explosive batting, including consecutive sixes off Bracewell and a 17-run over against Nandre Burger, helped the Super Kings reach 177/8.

Brief Scores:

Texas Super Kings 177/8 defeated Seattle Orcas 140/9 by 37 runs.