It occurred after the last ball of the 15th over of MI’s innings, ultimately leading to the two sharing a smile. MI New York batter Tajinder Singh and San Francisco Unicorns pacer Haris Rauf had a fierce exchange during their Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025 match on Monday (IST).
The episode occurred after the last ball of the 15th over of MI’s innings, ultimately causing Rauf and Tajinder to burst into laughter. Tajinder, still yet to get on the board, was struck on the pads after Rauf dispatched a yorker. The umpire did a head shake despite a firm appeal from the Unicorn players, including Rauf.
Once his appeal was not heeded, Rauf promptly turned around, picked up the ball and seemed set to bowl the ball back in case Tajinder was short of his crease. Rauf chose not to bowl the ball, noticing Tajinder in the popping crease. But the batter soon backed away with a raised hand to guard himself just in case the baller bowled the ball.
Return to the match, as Hassan Khan’s momentum-changing knock and Xavier Bartlett’s match-changing half-century made San Francisco Unicorns defeat MI New York by three wickets to gain their third consecutive win of MLC 2025.
But for a rapid-fire knock of 43 in 17 balls from Hassan Khan at a stage when the match was in balance, the Unicorns were suddenly pulled back into the match. Khan scored two fours and five sixes, as many as 17 runs from Ehsan Adil in one over.
Hassan Khan’s exit in the 12th over left New York with an opportunity to return to the game. But not according to plan for Bartlett. The Aussie all-rounder hammering Bracewell for three sixes in the 15th over reduced the required run rate from 11 to 8 RPO. And that was not all.
Rauf followed up his wicket-taking spree with two more scalps, while Hassan Khan took two before Pollard took four maximums off him. MI New York will play Seattle Orcas on Wednesday, while SF Unicorns will travel to Dallas for their next match against Texas Super Kings on Friday at the same ground.
