During the fourth match of the 2024 Major League Cricket (MLC) at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas, Finn Allen, San Francisco Unicorns (SFU) opener hit five continuous sixes in two overs to soldify his team’s hunt of win in opposition to the Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR). The New Zealand batsman also contributed a decisive half-century on Sunday, July 7th.
Allen partnered with Jake Fraser-McGurk at the top of the order to chase down the LAKR’s target of 166 runs. Facing a challenging pitch with varying pace, Fraser-McGurk fell early to the new-ball bowlers. SFU reached 32-1 after 4.3 overs, prompting Allen to accelerate as the powerplay phase neared its conclusion.
The right-handed batsman initially struck a boundary off Andre Russell’s fourth delivery to kickstart his innings, followed by two consecutive sixes to conclude the over. Taking strike again in the second delivery of the final powerplay over, Allen smashed three successive sixes off Shakib Al Hasan, tallying a remarkable five sixes in a row during his innings.
Initially scoring at a rate below one run per ball, Allen quickly accelerated to reach 48 runs from just 21 deliveries. Witness the batter’s onslaught against Russell right here:
Simply 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐧-tastic 💫#SFUnicorns #GoCorns #MLC2024 #CognizantMajorLeagueCricket #LAKRvSFU pic.twitter.com/uE7pVpYUoK
— San Francisco Unicorns (@SFOUnicorns) July 8, 2024
Finn Allen concluded his innings with 63 runs from 37 balls before getting out in the 13th over. Nonetheless, his contribution had already pushed his team to a score of 137, bringing them very close to securing victory.
“We are joking in the change room as to who can hit the biggest sixes” – Matt Short commented on partnering with Finn Allen and Jake Fraser-McGurk
Thanks to Finn Allen and the massive partnership he formed with Matt Short, SFU comfortably won by six wickets. They chased down the target with over four overs remaining, and Allen earned the Player of the Match award.
“It was good. Probably took a bit long to figure out the pace of the wicket. Me and Jake went too hard early. The way Shorty came out and took pressure off me was good,” Allen said during the post-match presentation.
“We are joking in the change room as to who can hit the biggest sixes. I think the pitch got better to bat on under lights, probably dew played a part as well. This tournament has a lot of good players,” Matt Short said after SFU’s win
Next, SFU will face the Texas Super Kings in Morrisville on Wednesday, July 10th.
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.