Follow UsPunjab Kings’ (PBKS) late recruit, Mitchell Owen, who was signed as Glenn Maxwell’s replacement for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, showed his bowling prowess, picking a five-wicket haul in the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025.
Thanks to Owen’s 5/17 in just three overs, his side, Washington Freedom, on June 28 (Saturday), handed the San Francisco Unicorns their first-ever defeat of the season, in a match held at the Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
Opting to bat first, Freedom didn’t really have a great going as opener Owen was out for a first-ball duck. Others in the top three didn’t do much either, and it was Australian Jack Edwards’ run-a-ball 42 combined with last match’s heroes Glenn Phillips (39-ball 58) and Obus Pienaar’s (12-ball 30) quality knocks that got the Freedom to 169/6 in their 20 overs.
It was more than just a par total on a wicket that was offering a lot for the bowlers, with Australian Xavier Bartlett picking a four-wicket haul.
The Unicorns, unbeaten so far, started the chase well with a 51-run opening stand between skipper Matthew Short and Finn Allen. However, they lost two quick wickets courtesy of Amila Oponso picking Allen and Rachin Ravindra getting rid of Jake Fraser-McGurk. Skipper Short tried to continue the momentum with a 41-run partnership with Sanjay Krishnamurthy.
But once Owen started to pick wickets, the Unicorns’ chase nosedived and from 97/2, they were suddenly 113/7, losing five wickets in a space of 16 runs and 28 balls. Three of those wickets fell to Owen.
There was no coming back for the Unicorns from there as they suffered their first defeat of the season, as Jahmar Hamilton provided some respectability to their total and took it to 157/9, losing the match by 12 runs.
Courtesy of this win, the Freedom now have 12 points from seven games, the same as the Unicorns, and both teams have made it to the playoffs, with two more teams remaining to fill the four-team space.