Washington Freedom vs Seattle Orcas, 26th Match - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Raza: We would have bowled as well. Having lost the toss isn't too big of an issue. The win does certainly lift everybody.

Maxwell: We'll bowl. Chasing gives a good opportunity. We've been trying to keep the same intensity. No changes, same team.

Washington Freedom have won the toss and have opted to field

19:13 Local Time, 23:13 GMT, 04:43 IST: San Francisco Unicorns win a last-ball thriller as they defend 148 by 1 run against Texas Super Kings. SFU remain on the top of the table with 14 points now. Washington Freedom now have a chance to overtake TSK and move to the 2nd spot. Toss shouldn't be too far away.

18:15 Local Time, 22:15 GMT, 03:45 IST: When these two teams met earlier in the competition, Washington Freedom hunted down Seattle Orcas' 145 inside 14 overs. Stroke-making hasn't been straightforward at this venue. Since today's first match is still ongoing (12 overs remaining), the flip of the coin for this encounter will certainly be delayed. We'll keep you updated.

Seattle Orcas, meanwhile, have finally gained some momentum. The wooden spoon winners of the last season were on a 10-match losing streak (5 last year + 5 this year). Shimron Hetmyer played one of his best T20 knocks ever against MI New York - 97* off 40 - that helped his team chase down 238 and register their first win of the season. The left-handed Guyanese scored two more unbeaten fifties (64* off 26 & 78* off 37) in the following two matches to ace the run-chases. Hetmyer has now won a hat-trick of Player of the Match awards. The Orcas will surely qualify if they win their remaining two matches. So they have their destiny in their own hands. The two teams below the Orcas - MINY and Los Angeles Knight Riders - will be rooting for WF as the fourth position is still up for grabs. LAKR will be eliminated if Washington Freedom don't win tonight.

18:05 Local Time, 22:05 GMT, 03:35 IST: Hello everyone and a warm welcome to today's second match. Defending champions Washington Freedom are currently placed third on the points table. A win tonight will take them to the first or second spot. They've had a good run in this tournament so far. After losing the opening match of the season by a massive margin at the hands of San Francisco Unicorns, Maxwell and Co. stitched six consecutive wins and in the process became the second team to seal a spot in the playoffs. Their winning streak ended a couple of days ago here in Lauderhill as they were hammered by Texas Super Kings in a 5-over encounter. They wouldn't be too bothered about that result as they still have a pretty good chance to finish in the top-two.

Preview :

Seattle Orcas have found form at the perfect time. After five straight losses, they've bounced back with three wins in a row, each navigated by a match-winning knock from Shimron Hetmyer. His latest came against the San Francisco Unicorns, a team that had already qualified for the playoffs. It was the first of three tough final league games for the Orcas and that victory has set them up nicely for the next two, both against sides that have also booked their playoff spots. With Washington Freedom up next, the Orcas will be keen to keep their dream run going.

If the Orcas win this, they will move to 8 points in 9 matches and get the much-needed breathing room over MI New York, who are on 4 points from eight matches with two games left.

Freedom, currently third on the table after Match 24, are one of three teams tied on 12 points. With the opportunity to have two cracks at final still up for grabs, they'll be eyeing 14 points to set themselves up for a top-two finish However, their last outing ended in massive loss to Texas Super Kings in a rain-shortened game, when their bowlers conceded the second-highest total ever in a five-over T20 game. The chase proved too steep, especially against the spin duo of Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad, and Freedom would want a better overall performance to get back in the groove.

When: Match 26, Jul 4, 2025, 7:00 PM Local / 4:30 AM IST (Jul 05)

Where: Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground, Lauderhill, Florida

What to expect: Lauderhill has a bit more turn than the other MLC venues this season, so do not expect very high scores that we witnessed in Dallas.

Team news:

Washington Freedom: Lockie Ferguson made his first appearance of the season in the last game but was oddly not called upon to bowl by Glenn Maxwell in the rain-shortened match. He's likely to keep his place and get a bowl this time around.

Probable XI: Mitchell Owen, Rachin Ravindra, Andries Gous(w), Glenn Maxwell(c), Jack Edwards, Glenn Phillips, Obus Pienaar, Mukhtar Ahmed, Ian Holland, Saurabh Netravalkar, Lockie Ferguson

Seattle Orcas: Steven Taylor and Gerald Coetzee were picked for the last match. While Taylor made a 10-ball duck, Coetzee impressed with figures of 4-1-21-0.

Probable XI: Shayan Jahangir (wk), Aaron Jones, Kyle Mayers, Heinrich Klaasen, Steven Taylor, Shimron Hetmyer, Sikandar Raza (c), Gerald Coetzee, Harmeet Singh, Ayan Desai, Waqar Salamkheil

Squads:

Seattle Orcas Squad: Shayan Jahangir(w), Aaron Jones, Kyle Mayers, Heinrich Klaasen, Steven Taylor, Shimron Hetmyer, Sikandar Raza(c), Gerald Coetzee, Harmeet Singh, Ayan Desai, Waqar Salamkheil, David Warner, Gulbadin Naib, Sujit Nayak, Cameron Gannon, Obed McCoy, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Jasdeep Singh, Rahul Jariwala, Ali Sheikh, Josh Brown

Washington Freedom Squad: Mitchell Owen, Rachin Ravindra, Andries Gous(w), Glenn Maxwell(c), Jack Edwards, Glenn Phillips, Obus Pienaar, Mukhtar Ahmed, Ian Holland, Saurabh Netravalkar, Lockie Ferguson, Amila Aponso, Justin Dill, Mark Chapman, Mark Adair, Lahiru Milantha, Matthew Forde, Abhishek Paradkar, Yasir Mohammad