It was a win-or-go-home match. To survive, one team would need to chase down the highest total in T20 history. Instead, they slipped to 10 runs for the loss of 2 wickets early on. From there, Washington Freedom pulled off a historic victory.
Washington Freedom defeated MI New York by 6 wickets in the Major League Cricket Eliminator on Thursday. Batting first, MI New York posted a massive total of 266 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in their 20 overs. In reply, Washington Freedom overhauled the target with 4 wickets and 8 balls to spare.
This historic match rewrote the record books. It stands as the highest successful run chase in the history of T20 cricket — surpassing the previous record set earlier this year when Punjab Kings chased down Delhi Capitals’ 265 runs to win this year’s IPL.
The match also set the record for the most sixes hit in a single T20 game. The two teams combined for 51 sixes in total. MI New York’s batters struck 29 sixes in the first innings, while Washington Freedom’s batters responded with 22 of their own.
No T20 match had previously seen a combined total of 50 or more sixes. The previous record for most sixes in a match was 42, set during an IPL clash between Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings in April 2024 — a mark later matched in a match between St Kitts and Nevis Patriots and Guyana Amazon Warriors later that same year.
This was also the first time in T20 history that three centuries were scored in a single match. Previously, two centuries in one match had occurred on multiple occasions, but three had never been achieved.
MI New York lost the wicket of Monank Patel in the second over after being sent in to bat first in Oakland. Quinton de Kock and Nicholas Pooran then put together a 118-run stand for the second wicket.
De Kock was dismissed for 51 off 24 balls, but Pooran went on to reach a century. The left-handed batter smashed his way to three figures off just 33 balls — the fastest century in Major League Cricket history — before eventually being dismissed for 106 off 33 balls.
Kieron Pollard’s 64 off 25 balls and further contributions down the order then helped push MI New York to their total of 266. Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan struggled with the bat on the day, scoring just 4 runs off 5 balls, though he took two wickets with the ball.
Washington Freedom got off to a rocky start in reply, slipping to 10 runs for the loss of 2 wickets early on, with Shakib Al Hasan claiming both wickets in consecutive overs. From there, Steven Smith and Andries Gous launched a stunning counterattack.
The pair put together a 241-run partnership — the second-highest in T20 history — before Gous was dismissed for 132 off 51 balls. Captain Smith, however, remained unbeaten and saw the team home, finishing on 110 not out off 48 balls.
With this win, Washington Freedom remain alive in the tournament and will face the San Francisco Unicorns in Eliminator 2 tomorrow at 7:30 am Bangladesh time. Meanwhile, defending champions MI New York have been eliminated from the competition following their defeat.
