Batting first, San Francisco Unicorns were firing on all cylinders right from the word go as Finn Allen and Jake Fraser-McGurk decimated the bowlers and built a match-winning partnership. A bit of help from the middle order pushed the total to 219. LAKR managed to put a lid on the scoring at the death, conceding only 35 runs in the last five overs. In reply, Andre Fletcher went about his business in his typical belligerent fashion before miscuing one to long-off on 19 and Alex Hales fell early in the piece. Unmukt Chand struck a quickfire fifty to keep the team in the hunt, Nitish Kumar added 18 and then Matthew Tromp raced to 41. Late in the innings, Sunil Narine chipped in with a brisk 27 but the asking rate kept creeping up. One of the real difference between the two sides was Haris Rauf; he kept breathing fire, consistently bowling at 90mph and above, mixing in cunning slower balls and ended up with four wickets. Xavier Bartlett was on fire too, as he wrapped up the tail
Jake Fraser-McGurk, MVP: It's been a while I have got runs in this format, it's about contributing to the side and I'm happy. Can't thank them enough (Shane Watson and co), they have been working hard, (lucky) ground is not that big, conditions suit batters
Narine gets the toe-end of the bat and it brings end to his ebullience. San Francisco Unicorns continue their stellar run and even though it's too early to say, they seem to be a side to beat in this competition
SP Narine c Couch b Bartlett 27 (13b 3x4 2x6) SR: 207.69
Ali Khan b Bartlett 0 (1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0
END OF OVER:19 | 9 Runs 2 Wkts | LAKR: 184/8 (36 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 9.68, RRR: 36.00)
- Sunil Narine26 (10b)
- Haris Rauf4-0-41-4
- Brody Couch4-0-32-1
SC van Schalkwyk b Haris Rauf 1 (2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 50
MW Tromp b Haris Rauf 41 (31b 2x4 3x6) SR: 132.25
END OF OVER:18 | 13 Runs | LAKR: 175/6 (45 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 9.72, RRR: 22.50)
- Sunil Narine25 (8b)
- Matthew Tromp35 (29b)
- Brody Couch4-0-32-1
- Liam Plunkett4-0-45-0
END OF OVER:17 | 21 Runs | LAKR: 162/6 (58 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 9.52, RRR: 19.33)
- Sunil Narine20 (5b)
- Matthew Tromp27 (26b)
- Liam Plunkett4-0-45-0
- Xavier Bartlett3-0-25-2