Florida [US], July 5 (ANI): Shimron Hetmyer had been the hero for Seattle Orcas in their last three games, but this time he couldn't save his team. With Hetmyer having an off day, the Orcas' batting collapsed again, managing just 82 runs. Washington Freedom made light work of the chase, reaching the target in just 9.2 overs to move up to second place on the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025 points table, as per ESPNcricinfo.

Freedom won the toss and chose to bowl first. They made an instant impact. Saurabh Netravalkar took a wicket with the very first ball, removing Shayan Jahangir. In the next over, Glenn Maxwell dismissed Aaron Jones. Netravalkar struck again in the third, sending Sikandar Raza back, and Maxwell picked up two more in the powerplay, Steven Taylor and Kyle Mayers leaving Orcas reeling at 21/5 after six overs.

Maxwell finished with impressive figures of 3/12 runs in four overs. Netravalkar also ended with 3/13, getting his third in the 16th over. Jack Edwards chipped in too, picking up 3/19, including the key wicket of Heinrich Klaasen, who was the only Orcas batter to fight back with 48 runs from 39 balls before being the last man out.

In response, Freedom had a smooth chase. Although Raza removed Mitchell Owen in the third over, Rachin Ravindra and Mukhtar Ahmed put together a solid stand. By the end of the powerplay, they had already scored 50/1, needing only 37 more runs from the remaining 14 overs. They got the job done in just over 3 more overs. Ravindra scored 32 off 23 balls before getting out, while Mukhtar remained unbeaten on 36 from 21 deliveries.

Despite this heavy loss, the Orcas are still in the race for the playoffs thanks to their earlier three-game winning streak. They remain in fourth place with nine games played. MI New York, currently fifth, are just one win behind with a game in hand. (ANI)