San Francisco Unicorns register largest win in MLC history; beat defending champions Washington Freedom by 123 runs

San Francisco Unicorns beat Washington Freedom to win the opening match of the Major League Cricket 2025. (Image: Sportzpics)

San Francisco Unicorns earned the biggest win in Major League Cricket (MLC) history when they trounced Washington Freedom by 123 runs in what was a record-breaking opening night at the Oakland Coliseum.Unicorns, led by Finn Allen’s blistering 151 runs, produced plenty of fireworks to enthral the Bay Area crowd as Coliseum hosted its first-ever MLC fixture.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Having been put to bat, Unicorns scored a league record 269/5 thanks to Allen’s 151 which included 19 sixes, also a record, with handy contributions from local boy Sanjay Krishnamurthi (36 from 20 balls) and Hassan Khan (38* from 18 balls).

Everyone, bar Jack Edwards – who took 2/39, went for over 10 runs an over. Saurabh Netravalkar, one of the stars of USA’s T20 World Cup run in 2023, was the most expensive bowler – going for 57 runs in the maximum four overs.In reply, Washington Freedom were coasting at 80/0 with Mitchell Owen (39 from 20 balls) and Rachin Ravindra (42 from 17 balls) leading the onslaught by the powerplay overs.When both departed, and Freedom were reduced to 97/2, they lost the next six wickets in just 20 runs. Edwards (21 from 7 balls) and Ben Sears (15 from 10) were the only two others who produced a fight, albeit meek, in going past the 10-run mark. Seven of Freedom’s players departed in single digits.Haris Rauf (3/30), Hassan Khan (3/38) and Carmi le Roux (2/35) were the pick of the bowlers for the Unicorns who were playing their first ‘real’ home game in MLC.At the forefont of the Unicorns’ show was Allen who clobbered 19 sixes as he brought up his 150 in 49 balls to record the fastest 150 in T20 cricket history.The Kiwi batter’s 19 sixes beat the record held by West Indies’ Chris Gayle and Estonia’s Sahil Chauhan. Not so surprisingly, he was named the Player of the Match.“Nice to start the tournament strong coming here. I reckon good bats (smiles, when asked how he hit the ball so clean),” he said at the post-match ceremony.“I set up pretty well and hit the ball down the ground. Good wickets. Was pretty special, good first stint. We got a lot of firepower with the bat. Good win. I think the way the tournament is going, it’s shaping pretty well. The lads are enjoying,” he added.Glenn Maxwell, the Freedom captain, credited Allen for taking the game away from them. “Finn Allen batted beautifully, he overpowered us, we had set plans, but this was a small ground and a beautiful wicket. The wicket changed a bit under lights, it held up a bit, but we lost too many wickets in the middle overs. We thought we had a chance, played well in the first 7 overs and then it fell apart,” he said.The MLC will remain in Oakland tomorrow for second of nine matches at the venue with 2023 edition’s champions MI New York taking on Texas Super Kings.Biggest wins in MLC history