Major League Cricket (MLC) 2026 delivered two contrasting contests on Friday as Texas Super Kings (TSK) and San Francisco Unicorns (SFU) emerged victorious in Oakland. While Texas cruised past MI New York (MINY) in a low-scoring encounter to claim the top spot in the standings, the Unicorns held their nerve in a nail-biting chase against Seattle Orcas (SO) to continue their impressive campaign.
The opening game saw bowlers dominate throughout before Texas Super Kings chased down a modest target of 128. Later in the day, fans witnessed one of the most dramatic finishes of the season as Brody Couch produced a stunning all-round performance to guide San Francisco Unicorns home by two wickets.
Texas Super Kings overpower MI New York in low-scoring contest
After TSK elected to field first, Texas Super Kings produced a disciplined bowling display, with Adam Milne striking early and Donovan Ferreira claiming three wickets to leave MI New York reeling at 52/5 inside seven overs. A fighting unbeaten 26 from Sunny Patel, along with useful lower-order contributions, helped the side recover, but their total of 127/9 ultimately proved insufficient.
The chase was far from fluent as the Texas batters struggled for momentum on a difficult surface. Saiteja Mukkamalla anchored the innings with a patient 38 off 37 balls, while Faf du Plessis, Rilee Rossouw and Ferreira chipped in with useful contributions. Although TSK required 19 overs to reach the target, they never allowed the asking rate to get out of control, eventually sealing a six-wicket victory. The result marked their third win in five matches and briefly lifted them to the top of the MLC 2026 points table.
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Brody Couch stars as San Francisco Unicorns steal last-over thriller
The second fixture produced an unforgettable contest as San Francisco Unicorns chased down 192 with just two wickets to spare. Seattle Orcas looked destined for a huge total after Shayan Jahangir blasted 62 off just 25 deliveries and Matthew Breetzke added a brisk 51. The pair helped the Orcas race to 138/1 after ten overs before the innings suffered a dramatic collapse.
Couch triggered the turnaround with three wickets, while Ghulam Mudassar, Matthew Short and Xavier Bartlett combined brilliantly to bowl Seattle out for 191 after they lost nine wickets for just 53 runs. The chase began disastrously for the Unicorns as they slipped to 26/3 inside four overs. However, teenage sensation Lhuan-dre Pretorius once again stole the spotlight, smashing a sensational 87 from only 36 balls.
Just when victory appeared certain, Seattle fought back brilliantly by removing Pretorius and sparking another collapse that left the Unicorns reeling at 163/8. With 29 runs still required, Couch completed his memorable outing. The all-rounder struck crucial boundaries, including a massive six in the final over, before finishing unbeaten on 26 to guide San Francisco Unicorns to a dramatic two-wicket victory with only two balls remaining. His match-winning contributions with both bat and ball earned him the Player of the Match award in one of the most thrilling finishes of the MLC 2026 season.
