TSKvMINY report: A RASHIDO special for the ages, but we fall just short
By MI New York Media
From the dead, from what was looking like an easy win for the Texas Super Kings at one point, we fought back, and how! Rashid Khan, with a 22-ball fifty, and Monank Patel, switching gears to smash a 45-ball 61, put MI New York in with a serious chance of pulling off this chase of 177 after being 52/5. Alas, it wasn’t to be..
The 97-run-stand from smash-land
It’s not every day that players from the losing side end up winning the Player of the Match award, and that should tell you the brilliance of Rashid Khan’s knock. Four fours, five sixes, and from a point where MI new York needed 125 runs in 52 balls, he refused to throw in the towel. With Monank Patel playing second fiddle to perfection, the duo brought the equation down to 33 runs being needed off eight balls. The fairytale finish didn’t quite come though, with DJ Bravo bowling a tight 19th over, but this partnership is what defines the MINY spirit, one that never gives up!
“It would have been great to be on the winning side. The plan was to have a positive mindset and back my skill. It is more of the belief I have and thank the team management as well for believing I can bat at number 7. I have to keep backing myself and do the basics right,” said Rashid in the post-match presentation ceremony.
The costly top-order collapse
In the end, it was the batting powerplay that hurt us. Ruben Clinton, Steven Taylor and Nicholas Pooran fell inside the first four overs. Although Kieron Pollard and Tim David tried their bit to rebuild, they couldn’t quite get going, and we were reduced to 52/5 in the 12th over.
Thunder-Boult strikes twice!
While our batting powerplay was a disappointment, TSK’s was quite the opposite. Devon Conway and Faf du Plessis smashed 85 in 8.5 overs, setting the platform for a possible 190+ finish. Nah, Trent Boult wouldn’t let them. He pulled things back superbly at the death, with two wickets in the 17th over, to keep them to a par score of 176.
It might not be the result we were looking for, but this is exactly the fight we needed. Our refusal to give in, the intent to keep fighting right until the end, is only going to make us stronger. With three games now to go, and the race for the playoffs heating up, it sets us up perfectly for what is to come. Onwards, upwards, and onto bigger things..
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“The best in our batting is yet come to come”: Nicholas Pooran
Two wins in three games from the LA leg. On some tough batting wickets, MI New York showed a lot of fight and character. As we head back to Dallas for the last three league games with a mission to qualify for the playoffs, skipper, Nicholas Pooran believes the peak is still to come.“The next week is going to be really important, with the final three games in Dallas. This week was really important for us and we're leaving LA with two wins from three games. As a captain, we're really happy and we'll continue to build,” he said on the back of the loss to San Francisco Unicorns. “Our batting has been improving, we'll keep fighting, and I believe the best is yet to come.”One of the bright spots in the game was Tristan Luus, whose late contribution with the bat (12) and a 2/21 with the ball kept MINY in the hunt. At the post-match press conference, he spoke about bouncing back from such games. “I think there is a lot of teams that have bad games and bad days. It’s all about the bounce back. We have a good team and we are still in a good position in this tournament. We just need to regroup, have a good conversation about this game and then from there basically don’t try to think about this game.”There’s an instant redemption on offer as both these teams clash once again in Texas in two days. With just two points separating the top-ranked and the bottom-ranked team on the table, this sure is heating up! 07 Jul, 2026SFUvMINY report: Arghhh, not quite the perfect end to the LA leg :(
It wasn’t our day. On the wrong side of the toss and put in to bat when the pitch was sticky, the MI New York batters just couldn’t get going. Undone by some sharp bowling, it was a late effort from the tail that got us past 100, and then our seamers tried hard too, but with the ball skidding on under lights and the advantage of chasing a smallish target, it wasn’t to be. Pooran tries infusing momentum, but MINY wobbleEvery match, we’ve had someone step up, play the anchor, and bat through. It looked like Nicholas Pooran would be that guy tonight, looking good with four fours in his 19-ball 20, as the rest of the top-order fell around him. But he too fell in the seventh over. It wasn’t a day for Kieron Pollard’s heroics either as the team collapse to 65/7 in the 15th over. Bosch, Luus and a late-order resurgence Corbin Bosch: 22(21)Tristan Luus: 12(14)And thanks to this 30-run stand for the eighth wicket to get the team up to 104, MINY had something to play around with. A sliver of hope. What a debut, Faisal! Debuts just don’t get any sweeter. Opening the bowling, off the first legal ball of his career, he cleaned up the dangerous Lhuan-dre Pretorius. And then followed up next over with a sharp bouncer that got big on Finn Allen, who could only miscue it as far as mid-on. With Tristan Luus and Tajinder Dhillon chipping in, at 66/4, there was slight hope of a special Blue and Gold defence, but alas, Matthew Short and Sanjay Krishnamurthi kept going and saw the Unicorns home. Chip up Fam, we’ve played some special cricket over the last three games to sustain the kind of run we did. As we head back to Texas for our final league leg with the playoffs berth beckoning, this is the time to not lose steam. We have an instant opportunity with the reverse fixture coming up in the very next game to set things right.. 06 Jul, 2026Match 7 | SFUvMINY preview: Writing our legacy as the table-toppers!
It’s a lovely WWWinning streak we are a part of here. We’re also loving the Big Apple feeling in Tinseltown. This is our opportunity to close this Los Angeles leg as the table toppers! From a Pollard century, to a Pollard final over defence, to a Pollard blitz, it’s safe to say this has been a season with our big man’s stamp firmly on it. While he’s been a constant, every match has seen a new hero emerge. Another win here should put one foot into the playoffs territory. Let’s storm our WWWWay through! What: San Francisco Unicorns vs MI New York When: July 5, 2026 | 6:30pm local time (July 6, 7:00am IST)Where: Knight Riders Cricket Field, Pomona What to expect: Apart from that one game where MINY won a low-scoring thriller by defending a total against the Seattle Orcas, this has been a chasing ground. In fact, this has largely been a chasing tournament. While it has become more batting friendly, it still promises to be another nail-biter. 05 Jul, 2026
