Freedom Achieve Third Win After Knight Riders Stumble to 108

Washington Freedom 110 for 4 (Smith 40*, Chapman 34, Narine 2-25) beat Los Angeles Knight Riders 108 (Powell 30, Netravalkar 3-16, Owen 3-19, Dwarshuis 2-12, Ian Holland 2-25) by six wickets

The Los Angeles Knight Riders produced a disappointing batting performance, marking another low point in their season, while the Washington Freedom also faced batting challenges; nevertheless, a modest target of 109 runs proved sufficient for them to secure victory in the MLC 2026 match on Wednesday.

Following a two‑day break, the MLC moved its fixtures from Oakland to Pomona, where the inaugural matches hinted at challenging conditions for batsmen over the coming days, as the venue would host seven games.

Play began with a total of 218 runs for the loss of 14 wickets in 37.1 overs, as the Knight Riders were dismissed for 108 by the bowling trio of Saurabh Netravalkar, Ben Dwarshuis, Mitchell Owen and Ian Holland. Colin Munro contributed 25 off 31 balls, having posted 33 in his previous game, while Matthew Tromp added 21 off 20 balls at number three. After the powerplay the score read 40 for 1, and by the end of the tenth over it was 59 for 3. The wickets continued to fall as Netravalkar dismissed Jason Holder and Andre Russell in the 13th over, effectively ending the Knight Riders’ chances of posting a competitive total. Rovman Powell offered some resistance with a 19‑ball 30, including two fours and two sixes, but it was insufficient.

Steven Smith seized the chance to revive his form, scoring an unbeaten 40 off 44 balls to guide the Freedom to victory. Although his strike rate of 106.83 after six innings was modest, his steady innings secured the required total. Sunil Narine sparked a brief resurgence for the Knight Riders by dismissing Owen and Andries Gous within three overs, giving them a glimmer of hope. Mark Chapman partnered Smith effectively, adding 62 runs for the third wicket in 54 balls and bringing the chase within reach before Chapman was out for 34 off 30 balls.

Nikhil Chaudhary also departed for 15 off 12 balls, but Smith and Lahiru Milantha completed the chase with 17 balls remaining.

The victory moved the Freedom into fourth place on the standings, level on points with the top three sides — San Francisco Unicorns, Seattle Orcas, and Texas Super Kings — though they trail significantly in net run‑rate, while the Knight Riders fell to the bottom of the table.

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