MINY vs SEO

And with that, the Oakland leg of MLC 2026 comes to a close. The tournament breaks for a day before the Dallas leg kicks off - that sure promises to be enthralling as the competition for the knockouts heats up. It's been a pleasure bringing to you the coverage of this contest and we thank you for joining us for the same. Do stay tuned to Sportskeeda for all the other cricketing news and action - including the Galle Test, Day 3 of which has just commenced. Do switch tabs to follow our coverage on this very platform. For the moment, this is the duo of Bidipto Datta and Sooryanarayanan Sesha taking your leave. See you again soon - buh-bye for now!

A truly relieved and happy MI New York skipper there. Nicholas Pooran will want to get some runs himself but for now, he'll dearly take this win as will the rest of his team. The Seattle Orcas continue to sink further and having stepped up with the bat today, they will hope that there's a turnaround with the ball as well that isn't far away. Desperate times now but having gone winless in Oakland, maybe a change of venue is what could bring about a change in fortune for them!

Nicholas Pooran (MI New York captain): Very relieved. Coming into this game, Seattle and us wanted to get on the board. Just very happy we got the points. We keep facing the same challenges. We bowled well in certain areas of the game. The most impressive part for me was the way Bracewell soaked up the pressure and Monank as well. That partnership was crucial for us. We didn't let the asking run-rate to get to us. We kept ourselves in the game by sticking to the game plan and not going too hard in the powerplay. (On Monank and the domestic talent in the team) I've been part of the league for the last three years and Monank has been part of our franchise for the last three years as well. The way he's gone from strength to strength has been very pleasing. He's taken that responsibility, assessed conditions, taken his chances and been very calculated. We wouldn't have been able to win this game without him. The other local guys, a lot of them have been putting their hand up as well. It's great for USA cricket and hopefully they keep taking their chances.

Monank Patel is the Player of the Match for his stunning 93 off 50 deliveries. Here's what he has to say: Really happy the way we played. We fought till the end and these two points were very crucial for us to start our journey this MLC season. We've been watching games since the last two-three days. In the second innings - especially in the powerplay - if you try to hit too many shots, it gets tough. I wanted to spend some time. I wanted to use the extra pace on offer. We've been talking with our coach and batting coach about the template. I have a particular template and I wanted to believe and trust it. That's what has got me success. (On playing at this venue) This is a special ground. Playing an international game here will be wonderful.

Heinrich Klaasen (Seattle Orcas captain): "I thought we batted superbly! We need some experience in the middle and some big hitting in the end, so, we changed things around today with the bat. 200 was a good score. But, we were a bit unlucky at times in the second innings. Yes we could have done better in the field and with the ball, but we improved. We could have done with another seamer, but it was a good wicket." 

9:25 PM local time (9:55 AM IST): MI New York beat Seattle Orcas by 7 wickets to register their first win of the season!

Monank Patel 93 (50) | Naveen-ul-Haq 2/64 (4)
Kyle Mayers 88 (46) | Sikandar Raza 2/37 (4)

A chase that didn't seem to get going for a good part and an innings that almost mirrored the Seattle Orcas' own essay. But as it turned out, the second half went completely according to plan for MI New York and after missing out on a win in their first two attempts, they've emerged third time lucky at the Oakland Colliseum!

The Orcas kept it very tight in the powerplay with Cameron Gannon extracting steep bounce and getting the ball to seam off the deck. The pressure that was built in the first four overs paid off as Sikandar Raza reaped the reward in the form of Quinton de Kock's wicket. Monank Patel took a lot of time initially but soon took on Jasdeep Singh and pocketed a couple of boundaries to pick up some pace. Michael Bracewell, who was shored up to number 3, struggled at his end though with an extremely sluggish start and it sent the asking rate up in excess of 12 pretty early.

With wickets in hand and the ball sliding on under lights, MI New York were always in the hunt. The moment Monank stepped on the gas, life steadily got a lot easier as the USA captain unleashed an array of shots all around the park. In what was a truly remarkable display of hitting, he picked out the fence at will, smashing the ball down the ground and even displaying some innovation with his ramp shots. He raced to a half-century and simply did not stop, plundering runs for fun and forcing Heinrich Klaasen to turn to Kyle Mayers as Harmeet Singh took a hammering.

As it turned out though, it was Mayers who broke the stand of 119 while sending down a two-run 16th over to spike the asking rate again. Skipper Nicholas Pooran perished after slamming a six as he registered yet another single-digit score but Kieon Pollard meant business, taking on Raza and ensuring that the target was still within grasp. And after a long struggle, Bracewell finally cut loose, picking out the mid-wicket fence at will to deem Klaasen's move to give Mayers the ball ahead of Cameron Gannon costly.

Given that Gannon went for just 13 in his first three overs, it was a surprise that he wasn't given his fourth soon enough. He was saved for the 20th over but it simply never came, with Obed McCoy carted for 23 in the 19th over as Bracewell notched up a fifty and Pollard sealed the deal with a six. Some ordinary fielding didn't help the Orcas' cause either as they sunk to what is now their eighth defeat on the bounce across these last two season. Stick around for the presentation...

Done and dusted! A six over the keeper's head and Pollard gets the job done like he has so often over all these years. And guess what - MI New York have sealed the deal with an over to spare to register their first win of the season. What a run chase!

18.6 Obed McCoy to Kieron Pollard, SIX RUNS OFF A TOP EDGE! THAT DOES IT FOR THE MATCH! MI NEW YORK ARE ON THE BOARD! Short on off-stump. Pollard walks across again goes for the pull shot on the backfoot. But the ball catches the top edge of the bat and flies away well over third man for a maximum! 

A maiden MLC fifty for Michael Bracewell! What a time to bring it up as well! He struggled for a good part of his stay but when the time came, he stepped on the gas in style.

18.5 Obed McCoy to Michael Bracewell, good length around off-stump. Heaved away off the thick inside half of the bat to deep backward square for one. 

18.4 Obed McCoy to Michael Bracewell, BRACEWELL IS PEPPERING THE DEEP MID-WICKET AREA! Ever so slightly short on off-stump. Pulled away flat and hard to the cow corner region off the back foot, on the full!