MLC: Rilee Rossouw helps LA Knight Riders end winless run with a thrilling victory | Cricket News
Rilee Rossouw emerged as the hero, playing an outstanding innings of 78 not out off just 38 balls, guiding the LA Knight Riders to victory after a shaky start to their innings.
Opting to bat first, the Seattle Orcas had a decent start of 32. However, Quinton de Kock (10) couldn’t capitalize on his start, losing his wicket in the fourth over. Nauman Anwar (32 off 20 balls) also departed as the Orcas approached the 50-run mark.
Shehan Jayasuriya and Heinrich Klaasen then took charge, but Klaasen (25 off 13 balls) couldn’t sustain his aggressive play and fell in the 9th over. Nevertheless, Jayasuriya, along with Shubham Ranjane, managed to take the Orcas past the 100-run mark. However, Ranjane (8) was dismissed shortly after, and Dasun Shanaka (7) couldn’t establish a significant partnership with Jayasuriya.
Despite wickets falling around him, Jayasuriya played a remarkable innings (60 not out off 45 bals) and scored a crucial half-century. With Imad Wasim’s valuable 19-run knock, the Orcas reached a total of 170 runs for the loss of six wickets in their allotted 20 overs.
For the Knight Riders’, Adam Zampa claimed two wickets; and Spencer Johnson, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, and Shadley van Schalkwyk each took one wicket.
Chasing a challenging target, the LA side faced a disastrous start, losing early wickets of Jason Roy (2), Jaskaran Malhotra (2), Gajanand Singh (3) and Saif Badar (10) within the first five overs, reaching 22 runs for the loss of four wickets.
However, the duo of Rossouw and Andre Russell stabilized the innings, guiding the Knight Riders past the 50-run mark. They built a crucial 67-run partnership before Russell (37 off 29 balls) departed in the 12th over.
Subsequently, Sunil Narine (8) was dismissed cheaply after the Knight Riders crose hundred. Shadley van Schalkwyk (12) lost his wicket soon after, setting the stage for a thrilling finish with Rossouw playing a masterful knock and scoring a well-deserved half-century.
In the end, after Adam Zampa’s crucial contribution of 12 runs, Rossouw finishe it off a magnificent six off the first ball of the last over.
Cameron Gannon was the standout bowler for the Seattle Orcas, claiming three wickets, while Andrew Tye picked up two. Wayne Parnell, Harmeet Singh and Imad Wasim took one wicket each.
Rossouw was awarded the well-deserved ‘Player of the Match’ award for his sensational innings.
Brief Scores: LA Knight Riders 175/8 (Rilee Rossouw 78*, Andre Russell 37, Cameron Gannon 3/13) beat the Seattle Orcas 170/6 (Shehan Jayasuriya 60*, Nauman Anwar 32, Adam Zampa 2/26) by 2 wickets
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