Washington Freedom pulled off one of the greatest run chases in T20 history, defeating MI New York by six wickets with eight balls to spare in the MLC 2026 Eliminator. The Steve Smith-led team chased down a record 267-run target in just 18.4 overs at the Oakland Coliseum on Tuesday, July 15 (local time).
MI New York posted a massive total of 266/9 after losing the toss. Nicholas Pooran smashed a record-breaking knock of 106 off 33 balls, and Kieron Pollard hammered 64 off 25. However, Andries Gous and Steve Smith produced stunning centuries to guide Washington Freedom into Qualifier 2 with a chase.
Washington Freedom suffered an early collapse, slipping to 10/2 inside the opening two overs. Chasing the biggest target in MLC history, the pressure was on after Mitchell Owen and Rachin Ravindra departed cheaply.
Andries Gous and captain Steve Smith completely changed the game with a sensational partnership. Gous became the first American batter to score a century in Major League Cricket, blasting 132 off 51 balls, while Smith remained unbeaten on 101 off 48 deliveries to register his maiden MLC century.
The pair powered Washington Freedom to 270/4 in 18.4 overs, completing the highest successful run chase in MLC and T20 history. The match also featured an incredible 51 sixes, with 29 coming from MI New York and 22 from Washington Freedom, making it one of the greatest batting contests ever witnessed.
Highest Successful Run Chases in Men's T20 Cricket
Rank Team Score Opposition Venue Year 1 Washington Freedom 270/4 MI New York Oakland 2026 2 Punjab Kings 262/2 Kolkata Knight Riders Kolkata 2024 3 South Africa 259/4 West Indies Centurion 2023 4 Middlesex 254/3 Surrey London 2023 5 Bulgaria 246/4 Serbia Sofia 2022Steve Smith and Nicholas Pooran React After Historic Eliminator
Steve Smith praised Andries Gous for his extraordinary innings after the record-breaking chase. Smith admitted that chasing 267 required everything to go right and said Gous' clean hitting completely changed the game.
"Insane striking from the other end. I had the best seat in the house. Chasing 260, you need a lot of things to go right. Shaky start but kept the rate around 14, two big hits in the over and it's game on. We were able to hit the middle of the bat, record of sixes. Good chase! Pretty special, great partnership. We will come back tomorrow for the match."
MI New York captain Nicholas Pooran congratulated the Freedom for an outstanding chase. Pooran said his record-breaking century meant little after his side suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the Eliminator.
"Congratulations to Washington, batted superbly. Yeah, that doesn't matter. Honestly, it doesn't matter when you lose the game. It's a tough one to swallow."
"Guys can bat well, teams can bat well, guys can bowl well, but one thing we really have control over is our fielding. Dropped a few chances and missed a run-out there, quality players, and it's definitely gonna hurt us here in Oakland."
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