Image Credit- Sportzpics
Regardless of the event, there is always a lot of excitement when the blue and yellow team meet off, and this matchup was no exception. The holders MI New York were eliminated from the MLC 2024 by the Texas Super Kings, who cantered home and won by nine wickets. With the ball in hand, Marcus Stoinis (2 for 18) was very helpful, and Faf du Plessis (72 off 47) and Devon Conway (51 off 43) spearheaded the chase with a 101-run partnership.
After being asked to bat first, MI New York got off to a terrible start as Dewald Brevis was removed for zero. with the opening over off Zia-ul-Haq, Brevis was early with his pull shot, lobbing it to mid-wicket. Nicholas Pooran, who smacked a ball straight to mid-on but failed to gain the necessary elevation for his aerial shot, was removed by Stoinis at the other end.
Monank Patel and Shayan Jahangir, two homegrown talent, combined for 49 runs off of 39 deliveries to lead MINY to 67 for 2 in 10 overs. In an attempt to step it up, Jahangir holed out to long out off Dwayne Bravo to the opening ball of the eleventh over. Rashid Khan was elevated to five by the batting team, a decision that paid off handsomely as Rashid quickly got going, hitting Bravo for a four and a six. In the same memorable 11th over, which saw 16 runs scored, Monank also flicked a ball behind square for four.
With a boundary in each over, the batting tandem kept the TSK bowlers on their toes, leaving Faf scratching his head. However, Monank was forced to face Noor Ahmad, who mishandled a slider, after a quiet over from Mohammad Mohsin that yielded just five runs. When facing his Afghan opponent, Rashid was more effective, striking Bravo with a six-ball that went straight down the line. But in the process, the all-round player came into contact with the boundary rope.
In the 17th over, Bravo hobbled off the pitch, and Aaron Hardie, brought on to close the over, was hammered for two maximums and as many wides in an over that ended with 19 runs. At the conclusion of the 18th over, MINY was up to 150 thanks to Rashid’s 50, which swept Noor. Stoinis bowled a perfect penultimate over, allowing four runs and trapping Rashid in front, with 175–180 on the cards. After dismissing Heath Richards and Kieron Pollard in back-to-back deliveries, Aaron Hardie helped MINY finish with 163/8 in 20 overs.
In response, du Plessis blasted the ball straight to cover and went off for a reckless single, but the fielder missed the stumps. The TSK batsmen narrowly avoided a mix-up in the opening over. The opening duo had to rotate strike after failing to frequently hit the boundary in the first few overs. They managed to survive several opportunities to be run out.
Rashid’s bowling stumps were missed by du Plessis during a thrilling ninth over, almost resulting in a near-miss. After a few deliveries, the ball licked the stumps, but du Plessis was once again spared when the bails held the ball in the groove. In the tenth over, he reached his fifty, and by the halfway point, they were comfortably on 74 for a clean sheet.
The TSK batsmen, in response, survived a mix-up in the very first over. Du Plessis struck a straight ball to cover and took off for a suicide single, but the fielder missed the stumps. The opening duo took it upon themselves to rotate strike after failing to frequently hit the boundary in the first few overs, and they managed to survive several opportunities to be run out.
During a thrilling ninth over, Rashid bowled a ball that missed the stumps, almost putting du Plessis out. A few deliveries later, the ball kissed the stumps, but this time, du Plessis was saved because the bails held the ball in the groove. At the halfway point, they were comfortably situated at 74 for 0 when he reached his fifty in the tenth over.
Between the seventh and the 12th over, TSK went 29 balls without a boundary until du Plessis pulled the other captain, Pollard, over square leg. He added two extra boundaries behind the square after that to make it an expensive over of nineteen runs. The partnership was eventually broken by Nosthush Kenjige after du Plessis lofted the ball to long off, gaining height but not distance.
When Conway hit Shepherd for four with a swat to the ground, he finally middled a ball. He kept taking risks with his arm against Kenjige; a six over long on and a mishandled boundary by Tim David indicated that MINY’s title defence was beginning to unravel.
At the other end, Aaron Hardie got into Boult and smashed him all over the pitch, scoring eighteen runs in the over before he finished it off with a boundary, bringing the chase down with nine balls remaining.