Los Angeles Knight Riders have done it! Jason Holder and co. clinched a nail-biting one run win against Washington Freedom to be crowned the champions of Major League Cricket (MLC 2026). 2024 champions WF failed to chase down the 165-run target set by LAKR, thanks to Sunil Narine’s crunch performance with the ball. The Knight Riders now join two-time winners MI New York and Washington Freedom on the list of teams to lift the MLC trophy so far.
Narine guides LAKR to maiden MLC trophy
Sunil Narine was the star of the night for the Knight Riders as he finished with outstanding figures of 3/13 from his 4 overs, completely choking the Freedom in the run-chase. The Caribbean spinner got rid of the top three – Mitchell Owen (9 off 8), Steve Smith (8 off 13) and Rachin Ravindra (7 off 7) within the powerplay, handing WF an early blow in the run-chase. Andries Gous (40) attempted to wage a lone warrior knock, as he has often done so in the past, but failed to find support from the other end.
Obus Pienaar played a brilliant 53-run cameo off 24 deliveries (5 sixes, 3 fours, 220.83 strike rate) but it came a little too late. 14 runs were needed from the last over for Washington Freedom to lay their hands on their second title. However, Shadley van Schalkwyk bagged three wickets in the final over to deny WF a win in the last-delivery as LAKR clinched a 1-run win.
Batting first in the MLC 2026 final, LAKR got off to a good start, thanks to a 66-run opening stand between Colin Munro (40) and Andre Fletcher (47). While Russell and Narine perished for ducks, Matthew tromp’s 39-run knock came as a face-saver for the Knight Riders. The rest of the line-up largely struggled, managing to register just single digit scores. Eventually, they were bowled out for 164 runs in 19.4 overs.
LAKR road to maiden MLC trophy
| Opponent | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|
| SFU | Jun 20 | Won by 7 wickets (14-over match due to rain) |
| SOR | Jun 22 | Won by 81 runs |
| MINY | Jun 28 | Lost by 41 runs |
| SOR | Jun 29 | Lost by 20 runs |
| WAF | Jul 2 | Lost by 6 wickets |
| TSK | Jul 4 | Won by 6 wickets |
| MINY | Jul 5 | Lost by 6 wickets |
| WAF | Jul 10 | Won by 18 runs |
| SFU | Jul 11 | Won by 11 runs |
| TSK | Jul 13 | Won by 6 wickets |
| SFU | Jul 16 | Won by 7 runs |
| WAF | Jul 19 | Won by 1 run |
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