Washington Freedom held their nerve in the last few overs to beat San Francisco Unicorns by seven runs in Eliminator 2 of Major League Cricket (MLC) on Friday, setting up a final against LA Knight Riders on Sunday (IST).Defending 238, Freedom looked under pressure when San Francisco captain Matthew Short produced an unbeaten 121 off 56 balls, but Saurabh Netravalkar and Mitchell Owen closed out the game with disciplined final overs to deny the Unicorns a place in the title clash.Freedom had elected to bat first and made the most of a strong start from their top order.Mitchell Owen struck 42 off 19 balls, while captain Steven Smith added 43 off 20 as the opening pair powered the side to 83/1 in the Powerplay. Andries Gous then anchored the innings with 73 off 40 deliveries, hitting eight fours and three sixes.Rachin Ravindra chipped in with 28 from just 14 balls as Freedom finished with 238/6 from their 20 overs.Xavier Bartlett was the pick of the Unicorns bowlers, taking 3 for 38 in his four overs.San Francisco’s chase got off to a poor start as both openers fell early. Lhuan-dre Pretorius made 18 off 10 balls before departing, while Finn Allen managed 14 off nine.That left Short to carry the innings almost on his own. The skipper hit 11 fours and eight sixes during his unbeaten 121, keeping the required rate within reach despite wickets falling regularly at the other end.Bartlett also contributed with the bat, making 28 off 13 balls, and with two overs remaining the Unicorns still needed only 29 runs with Short well set.Freedom, however, turned the game in the closing stages.Netravalkar delivered a crucial 19th over, conceding just seven runs and leaving San Francisco needing 22 from the final over.Owen, who had leaked 28 runs in his first over earlier in the innings, bounced back when it mattered most. He gave away only 14 runs in the last over to seal a seven-run victory and send Freedom into the final.It was another painful exit for the Unicorns, who had also lost by a narrow margin in the Qualifier despite finishing at the top of the league table. Their second chance at reaching the final slipped away as Freedom completed successful defence of their total to book a meeting with LA Knight Riders in the championship match.
