The final group game of the ongoing inaugural edition of Major League Cricket 2023 took place on Tuesday. It was the match between Kieron Pollard-led MI New York and Dasun Shanaka-led Seattle Orcas. This match saw some incredible hitting from South African star Heinrich Klaasen, who smashed the first MLC ton in the competition.
The match started when Seattle won the toss and decided to bowl first. MINY lost Monank Patel (2) and Hammad Azam (2) early, but Nauman Anwar. But then Nicholas Pooran came out and played a blinder. The left-hander scored 68 off 34, including three fours and seven sixes.
Skipper Pollard also played a cameo of 34 off 18. In the end, an unexpected 6-ball 20 from Trent Boult gave MINY a good finish. They ended up scoring 194/8 in the first innings. Chasing the score, Seattle lost Quinton de Kock (9) and Shehan Jayasuriya (0) lost early.
But Nauman Anwar (51 off 30) and Klaasen added 62 runs for the third wicket. But once that partnership was broken, Seattle lost regular wickets. However, Klaasen was firm on the other end and kept playing his shots. He smashed every MINY bowler to all parts and didn’t even spare Rashid Khan.
In the 16th over of the chase, he smashed the superstar leg-spinner for 26 runs in one over. Klaasen hit three sixes, one four, and two doubles in that over, which turned the game in the Seattle Orcas favor. They needed 53 off five overs, and that over changed the game for them.
HEINRICH KLAASEN IS TAKING ON EVERYBODY!
— Major League Cricket (@MLCricket) July 26, 2023
Heinrich Klaasen BLASTS 3 SIXES against Rashid Khan!
1⃣6⃣6⃣/4⃣ (15.5) pic.twitter.com/nYJQrnXh06
Later, he smashed the first MLC century off just 41 balls and helped his team win the game. This win has helped the Seattle Orcas finish the group stage on top with four wins out of five. Klaasen remained unbeaten on 110 off 44 balls, with nine fours and seven sixes.
Seattle reached 195/8 in 19.2 overs to win the game. Meanwhile, despite losing the match, MINY also qualified with four points but a better NRR than the San Francisco Unicorns. The Texas Super Kings and Washington Freedom are the other two teams to qualify for the playoffs.
