MI New York sealed their place in the MLC 2025 final with a seven-wicket victory over Texas Super Kings in Qualifier 2 on Friday (July 11).
Chasing 167 in Dallas, MINY stumbled early with the losses of Quinton de Kock (6) and Michael Bracewell (8). Monank Patel steadied the innings to 43-2 in 6.2 overs, though the scoring rate lagged behind expectations. His 39-ball 49 kept MINY afloat. The most decisive partnership for MINY was a 44-ball 83 between Nicholas Pooran and Kieron Pollard. Pooran scored 52 not out off 36 (four fours and three sixes) while Pollard finished unbeaten on 47 off 22, matching Pooran’s boundary count. MINY sealed their final berth with an over and seven wickets to spare.
Challenger, Texas Super Kings vs MI New York
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MINY's road to the final has been a story of dramatic turnaround. In their first seven matches of the tournament, they won just one – a seven-wicket victory against Seattle Orcas. A couple of more wins, both against the Los Angeles Knight Riders in the remaining three group matches, were enough to guarantee them the fourth and last spot for the playoffs. Orcas also finished on three wins from 10 matches, but they had an inferior net run-rate of -1.842 compared to MINY’s -0.518.
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Then, in the Eliminator against last year's runners-up San Francisco Unicorns, they clinched a nail-biting two-wicket win while chasing 132. Their hero was tailender Trent Boult – who suffered multiple bizarre run-outs earlier in the tournament – with a match-winning 22 not off 13 balls, sealing victory with three deliveries to spare.
MINY will face tournament table-toppers Washington Freedom, who dominated the group stage with eight wins from 10 matches. Both teams now have a chance to double their trophy hauls – MINY as the inaugural champions and Washington Freedom as last year’s winners.
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