MI NEW YORK STORM INTO THE MLC 2023 FINAL
By Vineet Anantharaman
Try saving some of those nails. Try saving your vocal chords. Try not running around waving the Blue and Gold. We. Have. Booked. Our. Date. With. History.
Oh this was a comeback for the ages. A bounce-back from a point where our backs were well and truly against the wall. And it’s always special pulling off these heists against the Super Kings, even more so when the stakes are this huge and the reward is a spot in the maiden MLC Finale.
With Trent Boult swinging it into our kitty with more ‘Four’ce and with each of our batters just churning out short, quick, sweet cameo after cameo, we’ve put in that complete team performance to carry us through. This is what team sport is all about. This is what stepping up in the play-offs is all about. This what the MI Family is all about.
Three games, three four-fers, the genius that is Trent Boult
A four-wicket haul in a T20 is rare. To do it twice is mastery. To do it in three successive games on a stage as big as this is pure genius. That’s Trent Boult for you.
- du Plessis c Brevis b Boult 6(9) – undone by the outswing of the new ball, getting a leading-edge to point
- Santner c Pooran b Boult 6(3) – a back of a length delivery that seamed away now, nicking off to the keeper
- Conway c Brevis b Boult 38(35) – his customary strikes at the death, getting rid of the set batter with a short ball
- Savage b Boult 6(2) – yep, Boult was savage. Undone with a top knuckle ball
The constantly improving Shayan Jahangir
If ever there was an award to be given out for the most-improved USA player through the MLC, Shayan’s winning it hands down. In the league stage game against the Texas Super Kings, he’d tried to anchor through the innings but fell at the wrong stage. But he’s more than made up for it here in the qualifier. An 18-ball 36 at the top of the innings, when the pitch wasn’t at its best and the other batters in Slade van Staden and even Nicky P found the going tough.
The Tim David treatment to a chase
Why worry when Tim’s out there? The asking rate touched nearly 11 at one point. Dewald Brevis was on 16 off 22. Tim on 7 off 12. Safe to say they were looking scratchy and the momentum was nowhere to be found. But come the time-out, some button somewhere clicked. Some switch went on. With sheer muscle behind this hit, Tim smoked Mitch Santner down the ground for a six, and then followed it up with three more off four deliveries against Mohammad Mohsin to resurrect MI NY’s chase.
Easy Wiese
34 runs | 24 balls. While Brevis was doing it in boundaries from the other end, with Tim’s sweet form rubbing off on him, David Wiese was more than happy to do it in twos. His experience of being around and his cool head were well and truly on display, as he refused to panic, brought the equation down to a-run-a-ball in the last two overs, and made full use of a dropped chance to smash a half-tracker over cow corner to kill the game. It was only fair that DB, who’d hung it out through the tough period got to apply the finishing touches, and stamp our arrival into the grand finale.
It's a Sunday in the USA, an early Monday morning if you happen to be in India, but you better save the date. MI New York vs Seattle Orcas for the maiden MLC title. It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be historic. The tickets have already been sold out. You’ve done superbly to break the odd-match jinx. Let’s get all the Blue we can, and go for Gold!
