Haris Rauf, Hassan star as Unicorns extend winning streak in MLC 2025

OAKLAND: San Francisco Unicorns continued their dominant run in the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025, securing their third consecutive victory with a thrilling three-wicket win over MI New York on Sunday at the Oakland Coliseum.

After being asked to bat first, MI New York posted a competitive total of 182-7 in their allotted 20 overs, thanks to a brilliant knock by opener Quinton de Kock, who scored 63 off 38 balls. 

Kieron Pollard and Sunny Patel provided late fireworks with quick cameos of 30 off 16 and 20 off 11, respectively, to boost their total.

Former Pakistan U19 all-rounder Hassan Khan had an eventful outing with the ball, picking up 2 wickets for 54 runs in his four overs. 

He was well supported by Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf, who delivered a tidy spell, taking 2/24 in his quota.

Chasing 183, the Unicorns had a shaky start, losing four wickets for just 42 runs inside the powerplay. However, a crucial 64-run partnership between Hassan Khan and Tim Seifert brought them back into the contest.

Hassan played a blistering knock, smashing 43 runs off just 17 balls, including five sixes and two fours at a strike rate of 252.94, before being dismissed.

The match went down to the wire, but Xavier Bartlett's unbeaten 59 off 25 balls guided the Unicorns to victory with five balls to spare. 

Haris Rauf also made a handy contribution with the bat, scoring a run-a-ball 10.

It is pertinent to mention that Rauf is currently the leading wicket-taker of the tournament, with nine wickets in three matches, followed by Hassan Khan with six wickets. 

With this win, the San Francisco Unicorns sit at the top of the points table, undefeated with six points and a healthy net run rate of 2.842.