END OF OVER:20 | 8 Runs 2 Wkts | LAKR: 134/8 (21 runs required, RR: 6.70)
- Shadley van Schalkwyk1 (1b)
- Fabian Allen1 (1b)
- Marcus Stoinis4-0-28-3
- Jasdeep Singh4-1-24-1
That's all the action we have for you today, folks. Thank you for tuning in to Cricinfo, and we hope you thoroughly enjoyed the game. Time for me to sign off. Goodbye and take care!
Marcus Stoinis: "[4 wickets down early] No, I wasn't comfortable. I was just thinking about at least getting the game a bit deeper and allowing our batters, whoever we had left, to settle. Dasun ended up putting his hand up and trying to get us to a situation where we can take the game on again, but it was hard. Dasun turned the game for us and obviously was man of the match, and the most important player. [Ali Sheikh] A really talented cricketer. He adapted really well. We were talking about the fact that we've got senior players all around him, but our youngster stepped up, adjusted to the conditions, and played really nicely. He took on the bowlers when he had his matchup, played the rest of the innings based on what he saw, and his bowling is really handy. His fielding is great, so he's a real talent. [How big was that win?] That is nice. I think I also heard that if we lost, we could go to the bottom of the table, so you never get too happy, and you never get too down on yourself. It's definitely nice to have that win as we head off to LA to tackle that leg. [Harmeet] Exceptional today. I think when he's bowling well, it makes my job a lot easier and allows us to rotate our bowlers a lot more. To be fair, the wickets at night were maybe a little bit harder to bowl spin on, but he really got it right today. It allowed a lot of flexibility with him and Ali and then to rotate our quicks. [Enjoying your role] Yeah, look, I'm happy to do it. Apart from that first over, I usually just bowl when I think no one else wants to bowl, so that's my theory as the skipper. Take some responsibility there, and then try to put the boys in as many good positions as possible so they can execute their skills."
Player of the Match, Dasun Shanaka: "[How did you score so quickly right from the off?] See, from the situation we were in, I had to play such a crucial inning. From ball one, my intent was there, so I'm really happy about my performance. [130 would have been a good target?] Yeah, initially, what I thought was to get around 120 or 130, but with the momentum I got, I was able to capitalize on that. So I'm really happy. You know, sometimes you need to step out of your zone to do something like that. I didn't think about the situation too much, which allowed me to just play freely. The confidence was there, especially after not getting big runs in the previous games, so I'm really happy to contribute. [Bowling unit] Yeah, absolutely. From the captain's point of view, he rotated the bowlers really well in this game, so well done to him. The bowlers doing the job for him is really good. [Los Angeles leg] Looking forward to the next phase of the tournament in LA. I hope to contribute with both bat and ball."
Jason Holder: "[Biggest issue in your batting group] This wicket is quite slow, but we haven't adjusted. When you look at this surface, it's been quite hard to start on, but it's still a wicket where you have to try to put pressure on the bowlers. Having said that, when you look at our back end bowling, it was probably not as good as we would want it either. But I still think we should have chased it. [Loose death over bowling] In hindsight, you can look back and see a few things. If you asked before the game, you'd take asking your bowlers to limit a team to 150 runs. But having said that, our batters just need to apply themselves a little bit more, string a few more partnerships up front, and be a little bit more responsible to take the game as deep as possible. As we've seen, it's very difficult to start on. [Next leg] Looking forward to what LA brings. We're not sure what the surface or the conditions will be, but it's a new atmosphere for everyone. It's obviously our home leg, so we're looking to make the most of that, and hopefully, our fans come out and support us."
6:20 pm It was a strong start once again from the Knight Riders, but losing two quick wickets inside the Powerplay halted their momentum in the run chase. Harmeet struck immediately after the Powerplay, clean bowled Badar cheaply. Munro stood tall at his end, with the explosive Kiwi opener taking responsibility, but he too was dismissed by Harmeet right after the drinks break, scoring 33 off 36 balls. The required run rate kept climbing as the boundaries dried up in the middle overs. Wickets fell in a cluster, mirroring their collapse against MI New York yesterday, as their struggling middle order offered little resistance. There was some late contribution from skipper Holder and all-rounder Tromp with the bat, but it proved too little, too late after consuming so many dot balls earlier. Jasdeep and Harmeet bowled brilliantly, keeping the pressure on and giving the batters no room to breathe. Stoinis grabbed three scalps, while Harmeet finished with two on a surface that assisted the spinners throughout. Sheikh was also exceptional, delivering a highly economical spell and picking up a crucial wicket. The Knight Riders batting unit once again failed to back their bowlers. There is plenty of work ahead for Holder and his team; back to the drawing board. With this victory, the Seattle Orcas jump to the top of the table, while the Los Angeles Knight Riders slip from second to third.
Seattle Orcas won by 20 runs
Shadley van Schalkwyk is the new batter. Around the wicket
MW Tromp c Gannon b Stoinis 17 (26m 12b 0x4 2x6) SR: 141.66
Fabian Allen is in at number 9
JO Holder b Stoinis 21 (25m 20b 1x4 2x6) SR: 105
Skipper vs Skipper now. 29 runs needed off 6 balls.
END OF OVER:19 | 8 Runs | LAKR: 126/6 (29 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 6.63, RRR: 29.00)
- Jason Holder21 (18b)
- Matthew Tromp11 (10b)
- Jasdeep Singh4-1-24-1
- Ottneil Baartman4-0-38-1
37 off 12 now. Here's Jasdeep Singh.
END OF OVER:18 | 12 Runs | LAKR: 118/6 (37 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 6.55, RRR: 18.50)
- Jason Holder14 (13b)
- Matthew Tromp10 (9b)
- Ottneil Baartman4-0-38-1
- Harmeet Singh4-0-20-2
Baartman to bowl his last over. 49 needed off 18 balls.
END OF OVER:17 | 10 Runs | LAKR: 106/6 (49 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 6.23, RRR: 16.33)
- Matthew Tromp9 (7b)
- Jason Holder3 (9b)
- Harmeet Singh4-0-20-2
- Jasdeep Singh3-1-16-1
