It’s that time. It’s that territory. It’s that motivation. WE.SIMPLY. HAVE.TO.WIN. Three teams – San Francisco Unicorns, Washington Freedom and Texas Super Kings – are through to the playoffs. The other three are battling it out for that one remaining spot. Seattle Orcas have won their last three games and are currently on six points with two games left. MI New York have three games left and a better net run-rate. Our task is cut out: win. A new ground will bring in a fresh start. At the Broward County in Florida, we are squaring off against the LA Knight Riders in the first of back-to-back games. It’s a team we have a good record against and are in a similar position as us. Let's get it over the line. What: LA Knight Riders vs MI New York When: July 3, 2025 | 15:00 local time (July 4, 4:30 IST)Where: Broward County, Florida What to expect: The one game that was played here saw a good contest between bat and ball. The ground here has generally been high-scoring, but there is a bit of rain going around, which could make things tricky. All in all, it promises to be a cracker! 

2023 in USA cricket history was an inflexion point. For their skipper, it was an inflexion point and a half. He’d witnessed a masterclass from close quarters: Nicholas Pooran’s 137*. “It was a dream innings. He single-handedly won us the title. Not just in the final but he scored runs in all every game in that 2023 season. He won us almost every game with the bat that season. Lifting the trophy in the first year will always be history,” said Monank Patel in an exclusive chat with minycricket.com. The Major Cricket League has touched down. MI New York had bagged Monank in the Draft, and he was watching history being made from the sidelines. “The first season of the MLC was obviously a new experience for everyone, playing with and against international players,” he said. “That first year helped all of us grow our skills and our game. It’s because of that first year of the MLC that this year we are able to use that experience and do the basics right. We have played in front of a lot of crowds in international games, but the MLC was a new experience and the first season definitely helped all us local players.”The seed was sown. The first shoots were seen in 2024 at the T20 World Cup. Unfancied, underdogs USA, shocked the cricketing world with their mature brand of cricket, holding their nerve in a thrilling super over win over Pakistan. But Monank had seen it coming. “Before coming into the 2024 T20 World Cup, we performed really well against Bangladesh. We had good momentum and confidence after beating a Test playing country. We had that hunger to do well in that World Cup. We were playing in our home ground against good quality teams and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity playing in front of crowds. It gave us a lot of motivation. The way we played against Pakistan got us into the Super 8s, and yeah, even in the 50-over tournament, we are at currently at the top of the table (Cricket World Cup League 2 2024/27). The growth of cricket has been tremendous,” he said. Come 2025, Monank’s batting is right up there. He had one fifty across 2023 and 2024 combined. He already has three in 2025. 62 (44), 20 (14), 93 (50), 32 (20), 60 (33), 20 (14), he’s not just holding his own, he’s setting the benchmark. For a player who’d admitted to needing a bit of time to get his innings started earlier, his strike-rate of 161 is testament to his growth. The first set of fruits are ripe and ready for picking in the form of Magnificent Monank.                 

It wasn’t our night. Nothing really went our way right from the start. This Dallas leg has been a tough one, but we are still in with a solid chance of making it to the playoffs. Let’s quickly hop over to Florida and make it our fortress! A superb Faf tonGeorge Linde, on his MINY debut, impressed immediately, trapping Smit Patel LBW in his first over. But TSK skipper, Faf du Plessis, went on a rampage from the other end. A calculated one at that too. With five fours and nine sixes, he batted through the innings, with the rest of the batters playing useful cameos around him. Our rejigged batting order doesn’t clickWith a daunting target of 224 ahead, captain Nicholas Pooran promoted himself to open the batting, but it didn’t quite work, with him as well as Monank Patel, who moved down to number three in the process, falling for single digit scores. Quinton de Kock tried to counter-attack from the other end, but was a victim of Akeal Hosein’s three-wicket spell for a 25-ball 35. Polly to the rescue, again!It was a lone effort, standing amidst the collapse and trying to get us close. Five sixes, five fours and a 39-ball 70, and it kept the required run-rate within some control too, but alas, it was a bridge too far. So three teams have qualified for the playoffs. One spot remains. We have a two day break, followed by three games in four days. A new venue is bound to bring us new luck. We are still in with a very strong chance of making it to the top four. As Pooran said in the post-match presentation, “It's never over. Tournaments like this, T20 cricket is all about momentum and individual performances as well. We're going to Miami to oversee different conditions as well. So we're looking forward to seeing what happens there. We're very optimistic. MI Franchise has never been out of a tournament, and all the teams know that. So we do know when, once we get one win. I think it changed for us, it's been difficult for us, and we have accepted that."