With the playoffs action underway, the opening day at Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium has already set the tone with two contrasting but competitive contests. East Bay Blazers leaned on familiar match-winners to see off Kings XI Dallas, while Chicago Kingsmen showed their champion pedigree with a composed chase against Silicon Valley Strikers.
Match 1: East Bay Blazers vs Kings XI Dallas
Opting to bat first, East Bay Blazers posted a decent 152/6 as Sujith Gowda (41 off 27), the Blazers’ leading run-scorer, and Saideep Ganesh (39 off 35) put on a solid opening stand of 76 in 9.3 overs. A quick cameo by Kavin Bandara, who scored 17 runs in the final over, took them past 150, ultimately proving the difference.
With the ball, Abhishek Paradkar continued his consistent season, underlining why he tops the bowling leaderboard. His 26/3 included key breakthroughs, most notably the in-form Andries Gous, which stifled Kings XI’s momentum. Despite some resistance, the Dallas side were restricted to 137/6, falling 15 runs short to hand the Blazers a winning start.
Player of the Match: Abhishek Paradkar
Match 2: Silicon Valley Strikers vs Chicago Kingsmen
After being put to bat first, The Strikers recovered from two early wickets through a 77-run stand between Shehan Jayasuria (49 off 42) and Dilpreet Singh Bajwa (39 off 38). But the partnership consumed more than 11 overs, and just when acceleration was needed, both of the set batters fell in a matter of 2 overs failing to capitalize on their strong stand. The Strikers eventually closed on 136/6, a total that looked slightly under par at the half-way mark.
Chicago’s bowlers kept things tight, with Ghulam Muddassar leading the way with 17/3, including the stand-breaking wicket of Bajwa.
In reply, Chicago found themselves in deep trouble at 77/5 in the 13th over, before Hassan Khan’s 27 off 16 steadied nerves. By the time he departed, only 14 were needed off 9 balls. Zia-ul-Haq then sealed it in style, striking three consecutive boundaries off an otherwise impressive Yousuf Zazai as the Kingsmen wrapped up the chase in 19.1 overs.
Player of the Match: Hassan Khan
Takeaways from Day 1
- Consistent Blazers: The Blazers’ key men from the league stage – Gowda and Paradkar – carried their great form over to deliver when it mattered and set the tone.
- Chicago Keep Composure: Hassan Khan’s calm head underlined The Kingsmen’s ability to absorb pressure and find their way to victory, highlighting their grit in defense of their title.
- Strikers Fail to Strike : A lack of late acceleration cost Silicon Valley Strikers the chance to capitalize on a good third wicket partnership and set a bigger target.
Day 2 – Stakes Get Higher
With two matches concluded on the first day of the playoffs in the Pacific, the competition moves into full swing with four matches set to be played today across both conferences as follows:
Atlantic Conference
Venue: Church Street Park, Morrisville, NC
(Match times are listed in Eastern Time)
- Baltimore Royals vs NJ Somerset Cavaliers (1 PM)
- Atlanta Fire vs NJ Stallions (6 PM)
Pacific Conference
Venue: Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium, Grand Prairie, TX
(Match times are listed in Central Time)
- Kings XI Dallas vs Silicon Valley Strikers (1 PM)
- Chicago Kingsmen vs East Bay Blazers (6 PM)
Watch The Action Live
All the matches will be streamed live on the MLC Network YouTube Channel. You can also click HERE to follow live scores.
