San Francisco Unicorns Blaze Past LA Knight Riders with All-Round Firepower in MLC 2025

By Shah Faisal

The third clash of Major League Cricket 2025 lit up Oakland as the San Francisco Unicorns flexed their batting muscle and bowling depth to overpower the Los Angeles Knight Riders. A blazing 88 from Jake Fraser-McGurk, a quickfire fifty from Finn Allen, and lethal spells from Haris Rauf and Xavier Bartlett saw the Unicorns notch their second consecutive win in style. The Knight Riders, despite a fighting half-century from Unmukt Chand, faltered under scoreboard pressure and folded 32 runs short of the target.

Toss and Playing XIs

San Francisco Unicorns won the toss and elected to bat first.

San Francisco Unicorns:
Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Cooper Connolly, Hassan Khan, Corey Anderson (c), Xavier Bartlett, Brody Couch, Haris Rauf, Liam Plunkett

Los Angeles Knight Riders:
Andre Fletcher, Alex Hales, Unmukt Chand †, Nitish Kumar, Matthew Tromp, Andre Russell, Saif Badar, Sunil Narine (c), Shadley van Schalkwyk, Ali Khan, Tanveer Sangha

Unicorns Set the Stage on Fire

San Francisco Unicorns posted a massive 219/8, powered by a stunning display from Jake Fraser-McGurk, who roared back into form with a blistering 88 off 38 balls. His knock included 11 sixes, including four in one over off Shadley van Schalkwyk.

He was well-supported by Finn Allen, who continued his good form with 52 off 27 balls. The duo combined for a 121-run partnership  in just 55 deliveries for the second wicket. The Unicorns raced to 76/1 in the Powerplay, laying the perfect platform for a mammoth score.

A brief collapse followed Fraser-McGurk’s dismissal at 167/3, as Ali Khan picked up two quick wickets. The Unicorns lost four wickets for 23 runs but recovered late thanks to a few crucial boundaries from Haris Rauf.

Second Innings – Rauf and Bartlett Seal the Deal

The chase began in disarray for LA Knight Riders as both openers — Andre Fletcher and Alex Hales — fell within the first four overs. Unmukt Chand tried to anchor the innings with a brisk 53 off 30 balls, reaching his half-century inside the Powerplay as LAKR posted 66/2 after six overs.

Brief stands with Nitish Kumar and Matthew Tromp followed, but the middle overs brought a scoring slowdown with three consecutive overs without a boundary. The game’s momentum shifted dramatically in the 14th over when Haris Rauf returned to dismiss both Chand and Andre Russell in a fiery spell that clocked 146 kph.

Sunil Narine provided a late burst with 27 off 13, and Saif Badar chipped in with 17 off 8, but Rauf struck again in the 19th over to clean up the tail. Xavier Bartlett supported with tight lines and timely breakthroughs as LAKR were bowled out for 187 in 19.5 overs.

Player of the Match

Jake Fraser-McGurk was named Player of the Match for his electrifying 88 off just 38 balls, which included 11 towering sixes and laid the foundation for a match-winning total.