Florida [US], July 7 (ANI): Andre Fletcher produced another explosive hundred, his second of the season, while 25-year-old debutant Karthik Gattepalli finished with 3 for 31 as the LA Knight Riders clinched a thrilling 11-run win over the San Francisco Unicorns in a high-scoring match to close out their 2025 Cognizant Major League Cricket (MLC) campaign, according to a release from MLC.
It was only the Knight Riders’ second win of the season but a timely reminder of the firepower they had promised and too rarely delivered. After the Unicorns elected to field, the Knight Riders came out with serious intent–imposing energy from ball one. Alex Hales, who had struggled for runs throughout the season, signalled a return to form by striking three boundaries off Xavier Bartlett in the very first over.
From there, it was an Andre Fletcher show. Unfazed by rain delays that also earlier reduced the game to 19 overs a side, the West Indian bludgeoned 118 off just 58 deliveries — a knock filled with 10 fours and 8 sixes.
Sherfane Rutherford accelerated the innings with a quickfire 49 off a mere 20 balls, propelling the Knight Riders to a mammoth 243/3 — a total that left the Unicorns facing a daunting chase. None of the Unicorns’ bowlers were spared; Hassan Khan and Bartlett picked up a wicket each, but both went at more than 10 an over. The absence of Haris Rauf due to injury was felt, with Ben Lister stepping in as his replacement.
In reply, the Unicorns faltered early and ran into a strong debut performance from Karthik Gattepalli. The left-arm spinner removed the dangerous Matthew Short with the very first ball of his T20 career, then dismissed Jake Fraser-McGurk later in the same over, delivering a dream debut against a quality side. He returned to pick up a third wicket in his third over, finishing with impressive figures of 31/3.
However, the Unicorns refused to go quietly, providing resistance to a collapse of wickets that seemed imminent. Leading the resistance, Sanjay Krishnamurthi (92 off 40) and Hassan Khan (35 off 17) had mounted a fierce counterattack, reviving the chase. Hammad Azam added 38 in the middle overs, and Xavier Bartlett’s late hitting dragged the game deep. The Knight Riders’ fielding was patchy, with errors threatening to undo their early dominance.
However, Jason Holder (2 for 28) helped apply the brakes by sending Azam back, and it was Shadley van Schalkwyk who sealed the deal — taking the final two wickets off successive deliveries to bowl out the Unicorns for 233, with just one ball remaining.
While the Knight Riders bow out with just two wins to their name, the performance offered a glimpse of what could have been. For the San Francisco Unicorns, the defeat concluded a campaign that had started dominantly — after a six-match winning streak earlier in the season, they lost three of their final four matches and finished third in the group stage, setting up an Eliminator clash against MI New York on Wednesday, July 9th in Grand Prairie, Texas.
Match Summary: LAKR beat San Francisco Unicorns by 11 runs (DLS method)
LAKR: 243/3 in 19 overs (Andre Fletcher 118, Alex Hales 58, Sherfane Rutherford 49*; Hassan Khan 1/43, Xavier Bartlett 1/44)
SFU: 233/10 in 18.5 overs (Sanjay Krishnamurthi 92, Hammad Azam 38, Hassan Khan 35; Karthik Gattepalli 3/31, Jason Holder 2/28, Shadley van Schalkwyk 2/44). (ANI)
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