California supremacy on the line as San Francisco take on Los Angeles in match 8 of Major League Cricket. MLC hasn't been too friendly for fans in the golden state with both teams desperately needing a win, ranked 5th and 6th respectively on the points table.
SF won the toss, and as expected, decided to bat first. Finn Allen and Matthew Wade ensured that the team got off to an amazing start. At the end of the powerplay, they were 75/0, which was not only the highest score in the first six overs, but also the only occasion in the tournament where a team didn't lose a wicket in the powerplay. Allen couldn't really get going, but did provide some support for Wade, before skying one on 20. Stoinis joined Wade, who continued his charge. The former played a nice cameo of 37 from 18, while Wade carried on and eventually ended on 78 off just 41 deliveries. With both the wickets falling in quick succession, the door slightly opened for LA to try and restrict the Unicorns to below 200, an uphill task as SF had crossed 150 with more than 6 overs remaining. A 20 ball 39 from Corey Anderson powered SF to 212/7 in their 20 overs.
LA, while they have a intimidating batting order, haven't been able to get going with the bat this season. In the first game, they got bowled out for 112, and then followed that up with a 50 all out against MI NY. Chasing 213 was not going to be an easy task for them, especially with the way they were doing.
Jason Roy, opening the batting for LA, got the team off to a great start before departing for 45 off 21. Unmukt Chand hit a couple of good shots, but couldn't make use of his start either as he walked back for 20. Nitish Kumar and Rilee Rossouw then put on a partnership to take the Knight Riders into triple digits. Shadab Khan then picked up both Rossouw and Jaskaran Malhotra in quick succession to leave LA at 116/5 in 13 overs. The two experienced internationals, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine gave their team some hope, making 75 in the last 7 overs with the former remaining unbeaten on 42 from just 26, while the latter hit 28 off 17. Unfortunately for LA, their valiant efforts couldn't get the side over the line as SF picked up a 21 run victory to move to 3rd on the points table. LA, on the other hand, with 3 losses in 3 games, are all but eliminated from the inaugural edition of MLC.