Unicorns Crush Freedom in MLC Opener with Allen’s Record-Breaking Innings

OAKLAND: The San Francisco Unicorns commenced their Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025 journey impressively, defeating the defending champions, Washington Freedom, by a substantial 123-run margin in the opening match.

The triumph was highlighted by a phenomenal, record-shattering performance from New Zealander Finn Allen and an intense bowling display led by Pakistani fast bowler Haris Rauf.

After being put in to bat, the Unicorns encountered early turbulence as Tim Seifert was removed by Jack Edwards, and Jake Fraser-McGurk was dismissed by Saurabh Netravalkar during the initial powerplay overs.

However, what transpired next was one of the most devastating T20 innings ever witnessed. Finn Allen launched a fierce attack on the Freedom’s bowling lineup, scoring 151 runs from a mere 51 deliveries.

His innings established a new standard as the quickest 150 in T20 history, achieving this feat in just 49 balls—surpassing Dewald Brevis’s previous record of 52 balls.

Allen’s aggressive batting included 19 sixes, the highest number ever recorded in a T20 innings. This remarkable achievement surpassed the previous joint record of 18 sixes held by Chris Gayle (against Dhaka Dynamites in 2017) and Sahil Chauhan (against Cyprus in 2024).

He reached his century in only 34 balls, marking it as the second-fastest century in a T20 franchise league, only behind Gayle’s 30-ball century in the IPL in 2013.

Allen ultimately amassed 134 of his 151 runs through boundaries, including 114 runs solely from sixes—positioning him among the leading boundary-scorers in a single T20 innings.

San Francisco witnessed a surge in scoring during the middle overs, maintaining a steady flow of runs—21, 12, 20, 12, 12, and 22 across six overs—propelling the total to 194/3 after 14 overs.

Although they slightly missed the 300-run mark, their final score of 269/5 became the highest ever in MLC history and the first instance of a team surpassing the 250-run threshold in a T20 match on American soil.

The Unicorns collectively struck 28 sixes during their innings, ranking as the second-most by any team in a T20 match, just trailing Baroda’s 37 sixes against Sikkim in India’s domestic T20s last year.

Washington Freedom commenced their chase with aggressive intent, racing to 89/1 in the powerplay overs—surpassing the Unicorns’ 67/2 at the same stage.

However, their momentum swiftly waned as Haris Rauf and the Unicorns’ bowling unit dismantled the middle and lower order.

Apart from Jack Edwards (15) and Ben Sears (10), no other batter managed to reach double figures, and the defending champions were bowled out for 146 in a mere 13.1 overs.

Allen’s 151 not only rewrote several records but also exceeded Nicholas Pooran’s unbeaten 137 from the 2023 final as the highest individual score in MLC history.