Lhuan-dre Pretorius smashed his second fifty of Major League Cricket (MLC) 2026 to help San Francisco Unicorns register their first win of the tournament. They registered a seven-wicket victory over Texas Super Kings (TSK) with 13 balls to spare.
In his previous match against the Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR), Pretorius scored 58, but his side suffered a seven-wicket loss. Heading into the tournament, Pretorius was already in excellent form, having slammed 65 and an unbeaten 116* for South Africa A against England Lions.
Chasing a modest 153, the Unicorns lost Finn Allen early, but Pretorius put on 82 (47) with Matthew Short (31) for the second wicket to put their side in a commanding position. Furthermore, Connor Esterhuizen (20) and Sanjay Krishnamurthi (19*) also did a fine job to take the Unicorns home with utmost ease.
Du Plessis fails to get going
Being asked to bat first, TSK skipper Faf du Plessis could not continue his fine form as he was dismissed for just six. In the last match, he slammed a magnificent century, becoming the oldest to reach the landmark in T20 cricket. It took Hardus Viljoen at nine to score a 24-ball 33 to give the Super Kings a respectable total. Before him, only Rilee Rossouw (36) made a significant contribution.
Veteran pacer Peter Siddle was once again among the wickets, finishing with 3/36, while Matthew Short chipped in with a couple.
The Unicorns will hope to make it two in two against TSK as they take on each other again in four days’ time in Oakland.
Brief scores:
Texas Super Kings 152/9 in 20 overs (Rilee Rossouw 36, Hardus Viljoen 33; Peter Siddle 3/36) lost to San Francisco Unicorns 153/3 in 17.5 overs (Lhuan-dre Pretorius 69, Matthew Short 31; Nandre Burger 1/13) by 7 wickets
Player of the Match: Lhuan-dre Pretorius
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