Well folks, that wraps up the action from Oakland for today. Thank you so much for tuning in. Be sure to join us again tomorrow at the same time. Ciao!

Faf du Plessis: "[Fitness] Stiff back before the game from the other day, missing it, and physio's orders were trying to take it easy in the field. I said it's never gonna happen. You know, as I'm saying, if I'm on the field, I just don't know third gear or second gear. So, as the ball was coming, I was like, I'm gonna have to dive here. [Batting first] Yeah, it's a tricky wicket, and I just felt like we needed to put some intensity there in the first six, because if you let the bowlers bite on the wicket like that, it can be hard work. The ball is very low, so to get a solid stand is almost half the challenge when you come here. Last season, we lost three or four in the powerplay, and it's really difficult to come back from that. So to get that start tonight was really important, and then Don [Ferreira] at the back does what Don does best. [Amshi de Silva] Yeah, and what an athlete. He's a guy that runs around and throws himself in the field. We were very optimistic about him before the start of the season; the guys were very excited when they got him in the draft. There was some real good chat about him and his potential. A bowler like that on a wicket like this, that's just a bit skiddy and doesn't get that bounce, if he bowls the right length, it's hard work. So very happy for him, he's a great kid. [Unbeaten at this ground] I didn't know that, but thank you for reminding me. That's a good stat. Obviously, I think bowlers love it here. I remember last year, the bowlers were very efficient in the way they operated on this ground. So hopefully we've got a bit of confidence again. Actually, Dallas is not that good for us as a home ground. As a batter, you've got to be proper on this wicket to get it right. As you always say, it might help if we win a few tosses."

Player of the Match, Amshi de Silva: "I can say that's the best day of my [cricketing] life so far. [Journey from Sri Lanka to Dallas USA] Actually, it was a tough call for me. I represented the Sri Lanka A team in 2024, and in October 2024, I decided I'm gonna resign from Sri Lanka cricket and come to the USA, take a chance, and see what the USA has to offer in cricket for me. [Four wickets on a day you'll never forget] Actually, it was a simple plan from the team. Really want to thank Coach Flem, Captain Faf, and Vice-Captain Donnie. They were all asking me to keep it simple, and we had been given a simple plan for the day. We knew that the wicket was supporting the bowlers, and we had a decent score on the card. So, I think it turned out to be a good day for the bowlers. I really enjoyed it. [Run-out of Krishnamurthi] It was kind of a redemption for me. Last game, I dropped a dolly at Grand Prairie, so I really wanted to do well. I always loved fielding, and I really enjoyed it. Turned out really good."

Matt Short: "[Did you feel that was a chasable total?] Yeah, I think so. I mean, they obviously got off to a little bit of a flyer. Their two openers obviously put on a few with no loss of wickets, so they probably set the base there early, but I think we called it back pretty well. Maybe gave them a few looseners later in their batting innings, got away from us a little bit, so I think we're probably hoping to chase a little bit less, to be honest. [Conditions tonight] It seemed a little bit drier this year. We saw a lot of the balls sort of skid and stay low, so leading into the next couple of games here we're going to have to adapt and figure out ways to score runs without the lower bounce. [Home crowd] Yeah, it's unbelievable. I mean, cricket in the US is obviously taking off a little bit. It's awesome to see our home fans and call this our base here in the Bay Area. So thank you everyone for coming out tonight, and hopefully we see you over the next week or so."

10:14 pm The home side started the Oakland leg with a loss on a tacky pitch that kept low and offered plenty of assistance for the slower bowlers, even though TSK opted to rely entirely on a five-man pace attack. TSK made a convincing start to their defense, keeping things tight and removing Allen in the third over. Short and Pretorius managed to ease the pressure briefly by hitting a six each in the same over, but de Silva struck back in the fifth over, removing Pretorius thanks to a brilliant, flying catch from du Plessis. De Silva's fiery pace tore through the top order, claiming three wickets in just two overs to leave the Unicorns at 53 for 3 at the end of the Powerplay. It quickly became 56 for 4 right after the restrictions were over when de Silva turned provider in the field, running out Krishnamurthi with a direct hit. The Unicorns never really recovered from there, and when Short was chopped on against Lamba for 28 runs in the eighth over, the direction of the match became clear. By the drinks break, the Unicorns were reeling at 80 for 6, with the tail completely exposed. Couch tried to fight back alongside the lower order, but the scoreboard pressure proved far too immense. De Silva finished with a fantastic four-wicket haul, while Milne and Lamba chipped in with two apiece. With this victory, Texas Super Kings jump up to second place on the table, while San Francisco Unicorns slip down to fifth.

Texas Super Kings won by 22 runs

17.4
W
Milne to Ghulam Mudassar, OUT, The off-cutter does the trick again and removes the final thorn in the Unicorns' side! Milne showcases his clever variations once more, bowling an unplayable slower ball to the tailender, who was out there looking to throw the kitchen sink at everything. Mudassar does exactly that, throwing his bat at the delivery, but he is completely deceived by the lack of pace and bounce. The ball crashes straight into the off stump and the men in yellow can finally celebrate with a sigh of relief.

Ghulam Mudassar b Milne 4 (2m 3b 1x4 0x6) SR: 133.33

17.3
4
Milne to Ghulam Mudassar, FOUR, Mudassar clears the infield! Length ball on the off stump line, clears the front leg and whacks it over mid-off
17.2
0
Milne to Ghulam Mudassar, no run, good length ball pokes it back to the bowler. Milne cuts it off with a diving stop

Ghulam Mudassar is the next batter in

17.1
W
Milne to Couch, OUT, Slower ball does the trick, and that should be the game! Milne bowls a clever off cutter on the fifth stump line and Couch plays his shot way too early, leaving his bat hanging in the air inside the line of the ball. It chips straight up off the middle of the bat, allowing Milne to take a regulation catch.

BL Couch c & b Milne 22 (22m 16b 1x4 2x6) SR: 137.5

END OF OVER:
17 | 9 Runs | SF: 135/8 (27 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 7.94, RRR: 9.00)

  • Brody Couch22 (15b)
  • Peter Siddle5 (5b)
  • Hardus Viljoen3-0-24-1
  • Adam Milne3-0-25-0
16.6
1
Viljoen to Couch, 1 run, full and straight on the stumps, plays off the front foot half-heartedly, inside edges to long leg
16.5
1
Viljoen to Siddle, 1 run, full and overpitched outside off, squeezes it to short third and sets off for a quick single. A direct hit at the striker's end, but Couch is safe inside the crease
16.4
1lb
Viljoen to Couch, 1 leg bye, slower through the air ball on the leg stump line, stayed low and tries to flick it away, does not connect and thuds the pad
16.3
0
Viljoen to Couch, no run, pace off length ball outside off, hacks it down and inside edges onto the pitch
16.2
6
Viljoen to Couch, SIX, Need 5 more of that! Full and overpitched on the pads angling away, flicked away using the wrists and clears the fine leg ropes!
16.1
0
Viljoen to Couch, no run, hard length ball angling in on the stumps, pokes it back to the bowler

36 runs needed off 24 balls. Here's Viljoen.

END OF OVER:
16 | 11 Runs | SF: 126/8 (36 runs required from 24 balls, RR: 7.87, RRR: 9.00)

  • Peter Siddle4 (4b)
  • Brody Couch15 (10b)
  • Adam Milne3-0-25-0
  • Amshi de Silva4-0-28-4

Malli: "Game is still on!! I like games like these, you never know till the last man gets out"

15.6
0
Milne to Siddle, no run, yorker ball turned into a low full toss outside the leg stump line, follows Siddle as he moves away from the wicket, blocks it to backward point

SF 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st11FH AllenLG Pretorius
2nd22MW ShortLG Pretorius
3rd4MW ShortC Esterhuizen
4th19MW ShortSP Krishnamurthi
5th7MW ShortHassan Khan
6th17Hammad AzamHassan Khan
7th10Hammad AzamHaris Rauf
8th25Hammad AzamBL Couch
9th20PM SiddleBL Couch
10th4PM SiddleGhulam Mudassar