That's all from this high-scoring affair, folks! Washington Freedom have successfully chased down 220 — the highest successful run chase in the tournament's history — and with that, they extend their winning streak to four matches. For now, it's me, Deepak Prakash, signing off on behalf of co-commentators Ajay Pal Singh, Saptak Sanyal, and scorer/analyst Yogesh Kumar. CHEERS!
Highest Targets Successfully Chased in MLC
223/3 by Washington Freedom vs Texas Super Kings, Dallas, 2025 (Tonight) [T - 221]
203/3 by MI New York vs Seattle Orcas, Oakland, 2025 (T - 201)
202/3 by San Francisco Unicorns vs Texas Super Kings, Dallas, 2025 (T - 199)
189/8 by Washington Freedom vs MI New York, Dallas, 2025 (T - 189)
188/7 by San Francisco Unicorns vs MI New York, Oakland, 2025 (T - 183)
Glenn Maxwell (Washington Freedom Captain): "Very happy. Any time you chase 220, you are happy. Probably weren't able to shut down one side of the ground. They batted really well. Faf put us under immediate pressure and they carried on from there. Needed something special. To have two guys out of top four do the job is really special. Gous to be out there to hit the winning runs, hopefully will give him a lot of confidence moving forward.
It comes down to a couple of things. Executions and who the batter is. You have to try and mix all that together. There are things which you work on. We probably haven't played the perfect game yet.
(On his banter with Marcus Stoinis) We have some good battles. It is nice and bad at the same time. He is a good mate, we have a long history. Played for the Stars and for Australia. It was good fun. He was using my shot against me, we had a good laugh at that."
Highest Team Totals in MLC
269/5 by San Francisco Unicorns vs Washington Freedom, Oakland, 2025
223/3 by Washington Freedom vs Texas Super Kings, Dallas, 2025 (TONIGHT)
220/6 by Texas Super Kings vs Washington Freedom, Dallas, 2025 (TONIGHT)
219/8 by San Francisco Unicorns vs Los Angeles Knight Riders, Oakland, 2025
215/5 by San Francisco Unicorns vs MI New York, Dallas, 2023
Mitchell Owen (MVP): "Yeah, it was good fun. I struggled a bit during the first 20–30 balls, but then managed to find some rhythm towards the end. So, yeah, I was lucky to catch up after that. Yeah, well, I said to Ricky during the timeout, 'This is embarrassing — we just can't find the middle of the bat out here.' But he told me to just keep going. With the short boundary and the wind, I felt like I’d get an opportunity to hit a few sixes, and luckily, it came off tonight.
I think it’s pretty straightforward when the required rate is so high from the start — you’ve just got to keep going, back yourself, and hope it comes off, like it did for me tonight. Having Andries at the other end was massive. I think he got 80 not out and hit the winning runs — that was an unbelievable innings from him, and hopefully it sets him up well for the back end of the tournament.
I was extremely lucky tonight. I mean, I bowled a couple of half-volleys and still ended up with three wickets, and I was dropped two or three times. Even my mishits found the gaps — that’s just T20 cricket for you. Sometimes things just go your way. I’m just riding the wave at the moment and enjoying it when it comes off like it did tonight. And when it doesn’t, I just try to stick to my processes and keep pushing through.
Well, I think it's quite simple for me. Off the field, it’s just about enjoying day-to-day life and taking things easy—keeping it all pretty simple. And when I’m out here on the field, it’s much the same—just trying to hit the ball clean. I can’t give away too much about my process, but really, it all comes down to keeping life and cricket as uncomplicated as possible."
Most Valuable Player of the Match: Mitchell Owen
Play of the Day: Mukhtar Ahmed for taking the catch of Donovan Ferreira