Major League Cricket 2026: Matthew Short stars as San Francisco Unicorns cruise past MI New York

The MLC Match 22 between MI New York and the San Francisco Unicorns ended in a clinical five-wicket win for the Unicorns on Monday at the Knight Rider Cricket Field in Pomona, California.The match remained completely in favour of Mattew Short's side as they won the toss and opted to bowl first. Brilliant spells from Brody Couch and the skipper restricted MI New York to just 104.

Nicholas Pooran walked in at No.3 and played a patient knock of 20 off 19 balls, unlike his usual attacking style. While Pooran held one end, Tajinder Singh (7 off 6) and Shakib Al Hasan (1 off 3) also fell cheaply. Eventually, the skipper too had to go back as he was clean bowled by Haris Rauf in the seventh over.The defending champions never recovered after the early blows and struggled to build partnerships throughout the innings. Even with experienced batters like Quinton de Kock and Kieron Pollard in the lineup, MI New York delivered a below-par batting performance. Corbin Bosch remained the side's highest scorer with 21 off 22 balls.

How did it play out for San Francisco Unicorns?

The Unicorns also suffered early setbacks during the chase, with Lhuan-dre Pretorius departing for a golden duck and Finn Allen falling for 5 off 4. Despite the shaky start, Short (21 off 20) and Sanjay Krishnamurthi (48* off 45) showed great composure to steady the innings. Despite the regular fall of wickets, Krishnamurthi stood firm at one end, guiding the San Francisco Unicorns to a well-earned victory.

SFU Skipper Matthew Short was named the Most Valuable Player of the match, producing a mesmerising four-wicket spell before contributing a composed knock with the bat to lead the San Francisco Unicorns to victory, securing the top spot in the points table.