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The first season of Major League Cricket, the first major cricket tournament in the United States is currently underway and features some of the biggest names in world cricket. In the match between Los Angeles Knight Riders and San Francisco Unicorns, West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell smoked a massive six off Haris Rauf’s bowling which went 108 meters.
The Unicorns opted to bat first after winning the toss and put up an almost unscalable total of 212 runs in their 20 overs. Mathew Wade top-scored with a staggering knock of 79(41). Marcus Stoinis and Corey Anderson chipped in with crucial cameos of 37(18) and 39(20) respectively to take the total to an above-par score.
LAKR got off to a relatively good start with a 50-run opening stand between Unmukt Chand and Jason Roy. But chasing 213 is never easy, as the Knight Riders were reduced to 116-5 with almost a hundred runs needed in seven hours. Power hitter Andre Russell walked in at No.6 and played an unbeaten innings of 42(26), but it was not enough for LAKR to cross the line.
Haris Rauf ran in to bowl the penultimate over with 50 runs required in just 12 balls. The Pakistani pacer bowled the very first ball in the slot to Andre Russell. The ball was a slower one, and Russell-Muscle picked it up with ease and cleared it over deep midwicket by a large distance. The ball crossed a distance of 108 meters and was lost in the parking lot of the stadium. However, the Unicorns kept their cool and sealed the game with a margin of 21 runs.
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The Los Angeles Knight Riders which are owned by the Kolkata Knight Riders haven’t gotten off to an ideal start to the MLC. They have struggled to keep up in the contest and are still winless after three games into the tournament. The chances of direct qualification look slim for them even if they win all their next games. They have a strong core of players which consists of Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Adam Zampa, and Jason Roy, but haven’t performed as per the expectations.