TSK vs WAF, Match 5: Who won today’s match in MLC 2023?

Washington Freedom (WAF) did not make the greatest of starts after losing to Wayne Parnell’s Seattle Orcas by five wickets in their opening match of the Major League Cricket (MLC). But on Sunday, May 16, they defeated Faf du Plessis’s Texas Super Kings (TSK) by six runs at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.

The win helped them leapfrog Aaron Finch’s San Francisco Unicorns to third in the points table. Their net run rate, which earlier stood at -0.325, improved to -0.014, and that should do WAF a world of good.

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Matthew Short’s knock too hot to handle for TSK in MLC 2023

After electing to bat first, WAF racked up a healthy score of 163 for the loss of five wickets in their 20 overs. Matthew Short ensured this team scored 47 in the powerplay, although they lost the early wicket of Andries Gous. Short got to his fifty off 30 balls, and went on to score 80 runs off 50 balls with the help of 10 fours and three sixes.

Obus Pienaar threw his bat around to score 18 off 11 and take his side past the 160-run mark. Fast bowler Gerald Coetzee was the pick of the bowlers for TSK, finishing with figures of 4-1-26-2. Mitchell Santner, Mohammad Mohsin and Dwayne Bravo got one wicket apiece.

In response, the Super Kings lost wickets at regular intervals and never really posed a threat to WAF. After Devon Conway was out for a golden duck off Marco Jansen's bowling, TSK found the going very tough. Faf du Plessis, Lahiru Milantha and David Miller got into double digits but failed to make their starts count.

Dwayne Bravo played some glorious shots to score 76* off 39 balls with five fours and six sixes, but his knock ended up in vain.

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TSK vs WAF: Who won the Player of the Match award in MLC 2023 Match 5?

It was no surprise that Matthew Short won the Player of the Match award. It was due to his knock that Washington Freedom were able to set the Texas Super Kings a reasonably challenging target. Short played his shots freely on a track that was not the best to bat on and never allowed the opposition bowlers to settle into a rhythm.