The Los Angeles Knight Riders advanced to second place on the MLC 2026 points table following an exciting 11-run victory over the San Francisco Unicorns, which was orchestrated by Jason Holder and Andre Russell.
Holder and Russell helped LAKR, defending 184, reduce Unicorns to 42 for 4 in five overs before Hassan Khan (45), Matthew Short (43), and Hammad Azam’s 19-ball 40 revived the chase. At the beginning of the 19th over, Unicorns required 18 from 10 balls with two wickets in hand after Hammad struck Holder for consecutive fours.
With five balls left, Russell took the last wicket to bowl Unicorns out after Holder dismissed Hammad off the penultimate ball of the over.
Russell got 3 for 42 after making a brief bat appearance, while Holder finished with 4 for 40 to win Player-of-the-Match.
Russell gave LAKR the late boost with a 40 off only 18 balls after Colin Munro’s 52 and Matthew Tromp’s 49 had earlier set the stage. Before Haris Rauf (3 for 25) and Xavier Bartlett (2 for 24) caused a late collapse that saw LAKR lose five wickets for 52 runs, they appeared headed for a total of more than 200.
After bouncing back from their early collapse, Unicorns looked like they may pull off the pursuit, but LAKR maintained their composure in the closing moments to secure a second straight victory and take second place.
After nine games, Unicorns, LAKR, and MI New York have ten points apiece, with Unicorns leading thanks to their net run rate.
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