Follow UsIt was a thriller-and-a-half as the Washington Freedom beat the Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR) by five wickets, getting to the target on the very last ball, that too, after the batter was dropped on that same ball at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on June 26.
In what could have turned out to be a Super Over, Knight Riders captain Jason Holder, stationed at mid-on, dropped a straightforward chance, although the shot was hit with great power by batter Glenn Phillips.
Freedom needed seven runs to get to their winning target of 214 in the last over, with Andre Russell bowling the final over. Even after getting hit for a four and bowling a wide to concede five off the very first ball, Russell bowled three dots in a row to Obus Pienaar, reducing the target to two off two.
Pienaar managed to get a single, bringing the dangerous Glenn Phillips on strike. On a low full toss, Phillips hooked the ball towards mid-on. Holder got both his hands onto the ball, but could only drop it towards the ground, thanks to his great reach because of tall height.
Holder tried to catch it on the second attempt, but failed and, as a result, his team lost their fifth game out of the six that they have played in the league so far.
Earlier, thanks to Andre Fletcher’s 60-ball 104, LAKR reached 213/4 in their 20 overs. Chasing the target, Freedom were boosted by Mitchell Owen’s 16-ball 43 at the top. Useful contributions from skipper Glenn Maxwell (42), Andries Gous (31), Phillips (33*) and Pienaar (23*) eventually saw the team home.
Courtesy of this win, the Freedom now sit in second spot of the points table with five wins from six games behind the unbeaten Seattle Orcas.