That concludes the MLC's action for today. I hope you enjoyed our live coverage to the fullest. Please join us again tomorrow for another double header of cricket. Until then, this is Rashad Mahbub, signing off on behalf of Chetan Kumar and Thilak Ramamurthy. Goodnight.
Glenn Maxwell: "I thought we executed really well. We adjusted conditions, we assessed what was going on, they started really well in the Powerplay, and we were able to drag them back with a couple of wickets, and we were able to take those key wickets all the way through. It's been polar opposites in those couple of games. It felt like when we bowled slower balls in the last game, they went on a journey and didn't really change much of the wicket. That certainly changed tonight. We saw with the variations that Dutchy (Holland) had tonight, he bowled beautifully and adapted to what was in front. Got a big wicket of their skipper, Heinrich Klaasen, and really broke the game open for us. I think the hardest thing to do is to be out there for the winning runs. And especially chasing on these grounds, you're not quite sure what the wicket is gonna do, especially with the way it played there and things. It stood up a little bit under lights, the last game we played against the Unicorns, so we still had to be wary of what was going on out there, but Rachin and Mitchell broke the back of that line that chase, and it was great to watch."
Most Valuable Player, Ian Holland: "(Last Season) I think being able to come into it with so much international experience and the coaches that we have, I was really grateful for that opportunity, and just to learn and try and get better. And it's been a great couple of years. After the first game, we identified that there was a little bit of hold in the wicket, and I was just really clear on trying to execute my deliveries with a combination of a couple of different slower balls, and it sort of worked tonight. (Advice on pace-off skills) I think it starts with a lot of practice. Having a clear plan at the top of your mark and backing yourself, I think there's going to be days where you get hit, and days like today for me where it's worked out."
Heinrich Klaasen: "The wicket got a little bit slower, and we lost a little bit of momentum there by losing too many wickets consecutively. So that's one point that we had to work on, and that obviously didn't allow us to do or capitalize at the back end. We were expensive, as we've missed quite a bit. It was a different wicket to bat on, so not too worried about it, we just need to fix our lengths a bit better, minor tweaks here and there, but that's nothing to worry about."
9:22 pm The defending champs absolutely turned things around. Mitch Owen and Rachin Ravindra got the run chase off to a flying start, striking boundaries on their first deliveries. They scored 20 runs off Mayers' opening over, setting up a very strong tempo for the second innings. Owen kept hitting hard during the Powerplay, scoring 25 runs off just 11 balls. He and Ravindra made a super-fast 49-run partnership in only three overs. Rachin Ravindra kept up the aggressive batting, scoring 44 runs off 18 balls. After the Powerplay, Salamkheil and McCoy quickly got two wickets. But Maxwell immediately took the pressure off, hitting three boundaries in a row in the 9th over. The score was too low for the bowlers to defend on a pitch that was good for batting. Maxwell stayed in until the end, scoring 38 runs off 20 balls. For the bowlers, Waqar got two wickets, and Gannon, McCoy, and Harmeet each got one. Post Match Presentation coming up shortly.
Washington Freedom won by 5 wickets
Scores level, Salamkheil to continue, slip in place
END OF OVER:13 | 9 Runs | WSF: 145/5 (1 run required from 42 balls, RR: 11.15, RRR: 0.14)
- Glenn Maxwell38 (20b)
- Mukhtar Ahmed3 (6b)
- Harmeet Singh2-0-18-1
- Waqar Salamkheil3-0-23-2
10 runs needed from 48 balls, it should be easy for Maxwell and his team.
END OF OVER:12 | 7 Runs 1 Wkt | WSF: 136/5 (10 runs required from 48 balls, RR: 11.33, RRR: 1.25)
- Glenn Maxwell31 (17b)
- Mukhtar Ahmed1 (3b)
- Waqar Salamkheil3-0-23-2
- Harmeet Singh1-0-9-1