Washington Freedom 129/5 (Smith 56, Chapman 44, Couch 2/24, Rauf 2/27) defeated San Francisco Unicorns 126 (Short 39, Edwards 4/13, Holland 2/16, Dwarshuis 2/27) by five wickets
Edwards’ four-wicket haul for just 17 runs set the tone for Washington Freedom’s victory, bundling the San Francisco Unicorns out for 126. The pace bowler struck three times in the sixth over, reducing the Unicorns to 45 for 4. Ian Holland and Ben Dwarshuis each added two wickets, preventing any recovery and restricting the opposition to a sub-par total.
Chasing 127, Freedom got off to a shaky start, slipping to 19 for 3 within the first four overs after the dismissals of Mitchell Owen, Edwards and Andries Gous. This left Steven Smith and Mark Chapman to rebuild the innings. With the required run rate hovering around seven per over, the pair forged a match‑changing 72‑run partnership for the fourth wicket. Smith anchored the chase with a composed 56 off 49 balls, while Chapman accelerated the scoring with 44 off 33, finding the boundary regularly. Although Haris Rauf and Brody Couch each claimed two wickets, briefly rekindling hopes of a late Unicorns comeback, Freedom stayed in command. Nikhil Chaudhary remained unbeaten on 11 as the team reached 129 for 5 in 18.1 overs, clinching a crucial win.
