Texas [US] June 21 : A whirlwind partnership between stand-in skipper Matthew Short and an in-form Finn Allen outshined a terrific century from Faf Du Plessis to ensure the San Francisco Unicorns chase down 199 against at Dallas' Grand Prairie Stadium continuing their dominant run in the third season of the Cognizant Major League Cricket, according to a release from MLC.
The Super Kings' diverse bowling attack was taken to all parts as the Unicorns' new opening pair put on 117 runs in just 8.3 overs to set the stage for a quick finish to the game.
They did not spare any bowler, especially taking on the star-spinner Noor Ahmad, damaging his stats with a whopping 50 runs off 4 overs.
The onslaught also made sure Allen not only bolstered his current lead at the top of the batting leaderboard but also became the highest run-scorer in the league's history.
While Allen's assault felt like deja vu from his world-record knock in the season opener, it was his opening partner, Matthew Short stepping in as stand-in skipper for the injured Corey Anderson who launched the initial counter-attack on the Unicorns with brute force.
Short smashed a blistering 61 off just 29 deliveries before Daryl Mitchell's persistence with wider deliveries outside off-stump finally brought his innings to an end.
As Allen and another powerhouse, Fraser-McGurk, came together, it was the Unicorns' match to lose.
While they weren't there to hit the winning shot, their hitting spree made sure the Unicorns asserted their dominance by inflicting the Super Kings their first defeat by 7 wickets and remaining atop the leaderboard.
Earlier, the Unicorns opted to field first in the season's first game at The Grand Prairie. A sparkling start from captain Faf Du Plessis made the powerplay woes disappear as the Super Kings amassed 71 off the first six overs.
Du Plessis and Conway put on 97 before Haris Rauf extended his wickets column as the leading wicket-taker, sending Conway back.
However, that didn't deter a determined Faf du Plessis, who went on to blaze his way to a stunning century off just 51 deliveries, peppering the boundary rope 13 times.
Emerging U.S. batter Sai Mukkamalla provided valuable support with a brisk 38 off 24 balls.
But just as the Super Kings seemed destined to cruise past the 200 mark especially with Du Plessis in full flair Xavier and Haris Rauf delivered crucial breakthroughs that stemmed the run flow. In the end, the Super Kings fell just 2 runs short of the milestone.
While the Super Kings were outsmarted today, they will look to mark their comeback stronger and entertain their home crowd at Dallas against Washington Freedom this Sunday.
Meanwhile, the table-toppers San Francisco Unicorns will seek to extend their unbeaten lead as they face MI New York on Monday.
Match Summary: SF Unicorns won by 7 wickets ( with 23 balls remaining)
TSK: 198/5 (Faf Du Plessis 100, Saiteja Mukkamalla 38, Devon Conway 23, Xavier Bartlett 31/2, Haris Rauf 34/2)
SFU: 202/3 (Finn Allen 78, Matthew Short 61, Fraser-McGurk 37, Adam Milne 24/1).
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