Our Bureau
Dallas, TX
Mumbai Indians New York (MINY) staged one of the most amazing comebacks in franchise T20 history, defeating reigning champions Washington Freedom by five runs to win the 2025 Major League Cricket (MLC) championship at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, on Monday.
A packed stadium with a beautiful Cricket ground was a treat to watch in the day-night match. Mumbai Indians NY seemed to be the favorite to win as crowd cheered and applauded their performance while batting first.
Rushil Ugarkar, who sealed the match for MI, defended 12 runs in the last over against the dangerous Glenn Maxwell and Glenn Phillips.
Chasing 181, Trent Boult picked up two wickets in the first over of the innings to dent Freedom. However, opener Rachin Ravindra scoring 70 from 41 balls after early jitters and Jack Edwards chipping in with 33 from 22, the Freedom innings didn’t seem to find the next gear they needed till Phillips got going.
Though Phillips provided a huge hope to Washington Freedom XI but couldn’t keep up to the required run rate in reaching the target. During the chase, at one point the target looked achievable when Washington Freedom coached by Ricky Ponting was playing well. In the end, Maxwell couldn’t get the scoreboard moving at the required rate and Washington Freedom (WF) finished five runs short of the target.
The credit for this win goes to three MINY bowlers, including Ugarkar, who went at eight an over or fewer, with Tajinder Singh’s three overs costing just 18 runs.
Earlier in the match, Freedom’s skipper Maxwell opted to field. MINY had the best possible start, with Quinton de Kock and Monank Patel, who finished as the top run-getter in the tournament, adding 72 runs in just 44 balls.
De Kock was the aggressor in that stand, as he was in the third-wicket stand of 56 off 35 balls with Nicholas Pooran, where he scored 32 in 18 balls to Pooran’s 17-ball 21.
De Kock’s innings ended on 77 from 46 balls, and though there wasn’t much after he fell in the 17th over, one of Lockie Ferguson’s three wickets, apart from Kunwarjeet Singh’s unbeaten 22 from 13 balls, MINY were better placed heading into the break. And they stayed there despite the best efforts from Ravindra and Phillips, and they have Ugarkar to thank for it.
Brief Scores: MI New York 180/7 (Quinton de Kock 77; Lockie Ferguson 3-21) beat Washington Freedom 175/5 (Rachin Ravindra 70; Rushil Ugarkar 2-32).
This is the second championship victory of Mumbai Indians New York after the first title in 2023.
