After two losses in a row, Texas Super Kings (TSK) returned to winning ways with a 22-run victory against the San Francisco Unicorns (SFO) in Oakland. It was an excellent performance from Donovan Ferreira, who rescued his side with a 28-ball 45 and Amshi de Silva, who claimed a four-wicket haul.
Chasing 162, the Unicorns were bowled out for just 139 in the 18th over, reducing them to their second loss of the season in three matches.
Slump after bright start
However, things started brightly for Faf du Plessis’ (40) men as he and Saiteja Mukkamala (36) put on 72 for the first wicket. But they lost five wickets for just 24 runs in a span of four overs, to hand the advantage back to the Unicorns.
That’s when Ferreira played a lone hand, taking on the bowlers to ensure TSK reached a competitive total after risking getting bowled out within 20 overs. The South African batter hit four sixes and a couple of fours to push his side’s total beyond the 160 mark.
Lack of partnerships
In reply, SFU never stitched a formidable partnership together that could give them a chance to get over the line. They managed to score 53 in the powerplay but lost three wickets in doing so. Only Matthew Short (28), Hammad Azam (20) and Brody Couch (22) got over 20 for SFU, and their highest partnership was just 25.
Pacer de Silva did a phenomenal job picking up 4/28 in his spell, accounting for wickets of Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Finn Allen, Connor Esterhuizen and Azam. Abhimanyu Lamba and Adam Milne picked yo two scalps as well, while Hardus Viljoen chipped in with a wicket.
TSK will next be in action against defending champions MI New York on June 27 (Saturday), while SFU will hope to return to winning ways against Seattle Orcas on the same day – with both matches set to be played in Oakland.
Brief scores:
Texas Super Kings 161/8 in 20 overs (Donovan Ferreira 45, Faf du Plessis 40; Ghulam Mudassar 2/30) beat San Francisco Unicorns 139 in 17.4 overs (Matthew Short 28, Brody Couch 22; Amshi de Silva 4/28) by 22 runs
Player of the Match: Amshi de Silva
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