Bracewell and Pollard lead MINY to first win of 2025 MLC season as they chase down 200 to beat the Seattle Orcas.
Monank, Bracewell and Pollard lead MI New York to 201 target for first win.
By the time all teams have played three of their ten league games, MI New York has finally earned a “W” in MLC 2025. Although they had some scary moments in the final game played in Oakland this season due to a poor start in their chase of 201 against the Seattle Orcas, MI New York did it in style.
All-rounders Michael Bracewell and Kieron Pollard saw them home with an over remaining after they only scored 38 for 1 in the powerplay before his opening partner Monank Patel took off to finish with 93 off 50 balls.
In an attempt to turn their fortunes around, the Orcas decided to bat in an attempt to get their first victory of the season and altered their batting order and starting lineup. After scoring a duck in their most recent game, Kyle Mayers dropped to No. 4, and it paid off when he walked out when the Orcas were 30 for 2 near the conclusion of the powerplay after Aaron Jones and captain David Warner fell cheaply.
Tajinder Singh lost a sitter on the off side, giving Mayers a life, while Jahangir and Mayers hit sixes every over for five consecutive overs. The third-wicket stand of 77 off 49 balls sent them over 100 in the 14th over, but Jahangir holed out for 43 off 34 after more sixes.
With two sixes and a four off Naveen-ul-Haq in the 15th over, which went for 18, Mayers then increased the run pace to eight an over, achieving his half-century off 31 balls. Mayers mostly used his back-foot strokes to muscle the ball away and burnt a lot of his boundaries on the leg side.
Before Boult dismissed Mayers in the 19th over, which went for just eight runs, he hit four more sixes in Naveen’s subsequent over, three of which were over long-on. Hetmyer hit two fours and two sixes in the final over before holing out on the final ball, but Naveen had no reprieve. In his brief appearance, Captain Heinrich Klaasen also contributed three sixes. Orcas pummeled 120 runs in the last eight overs.
Prior to Quinton de Kock’s six against Obed McCoy in the third over, MINY was also struggling with edges and appeals in the powerplay.
Although the plan didn’t precisely go as planned, runs did flow more readily as the chase went on, thus MINY promoted Bracewell above Pooran because they thought the second half of the innings would be better for batting.
In the 19th over against McCoy, Bracewell and Pollard completed the scoring with 21 runs off 12 after Bracewell grabbed two fours and a six off Mayers’ following over, which went for 19. Up to four Orcas bowlers scored more than 10 runs per over, with Pollard scoring 26 off 10 and Bracewell remaining undefeated at 50 off 35.