09|07|2026

The Francisco Unicorns batter Lhuan-dre Pretorius scored an unbeaten 102 runs from 52 balls to lead his side to the top of the MLC table against MI New York.

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MI batted first in the top-of-the-table match, opening with the South African pair of Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton. The DP World Lions and Proteas pair could only manage 24 runs, with de Kock scoring just 6.

MI struggled to move past second gear, as Rickelton was their top run-scorer with 35 from 21 balls. American all-rounder Sunny Patel was the second-highest scorer with 32 runs and helped the defending champions reach 143 for 9.

Pretorius helped the Unicorns reach the target within 94 balls, moving his side to the top of the table. The Paarl Royals opener was so dominant in the second-wicket partnership of 94 with his captain Matthew Short that the Australian international only contributed 19.

The Unicorns have only two matches left and sit at the top of the table but are yet to qualify for the playoffs. MI are third but level on points with Seattle Orcas and Washington Freedom, who are second and fourth, respectively. The MLC is definitely going down to the wire, with the bottom-of-the-table teams still having a good chance of reaching the playoffs.