The Oakland leg of the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2026 season will commence with the San Francisco Unicorns (SFU) taking on the Texas Super Kings (TSK), in what will be a rematch of the fourth game of the season. The Unicorns had handily defeated the Super Kings in Dallas after losing to the Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR).
They haven’t played a game since and will come into the clash with confidence. As for the Super Kings, they’ve now lost consecutive games. The MI New York got the better of them on June 22. TSK are placed fifth on the points table and will hope the venue change works for them.
SFU vs TSK: Match Details
- Match Number: 8
- Date: Thursday, June 25
- Venue: Oakland Coliseum, California
- Toss Time: 6:30 AM IST
- Start Time: 7:00 AM IST
Oakland Coliseum Pitch Report
Evening conditions in the Bay Area will be a pleasant change for bowlers as we move away from hotter weather in Texas. Since it’ll be the first match of the MLC 2026 season in Oakland, it’s tough to be certain how the pitch will play. However, in the past we’ve seen true bounce, a quick outfield, and an overall balanced surface for batters and bowlers. There will be some early movement for fast bowlers, and spin will play a role. The shorter square boundaries mean more cross-bat hits.
Predicted Playing XIs
San Francisco Unicorns: Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Finn Allen, Matthew Short (c), Conner Esterhuizen, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Hassan Khan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Hammad Azam, Brody Couch, Ghulam Mudassar, Peter Siddle
Texas Super Kings: Faf du Plessis (c), Saiteja Mukkamalla (wk), Rilee Rossouw, Milind Kumar, Shubham Ranjane, Wiaan Mulder, Donovan Ferreira, Akeal Hosein, Amshi de Silva, Adam Milne, Hardus Viljoen
SFU vs TSK: Head-to-Head Record in MLC
| Matches Won | |
|---|---|
| San Francisco Unicorns | 4 |
| Texas Super Kings | 1 |
| No Result | 0 |
SFU vs TSK Match Prediction
The Oakland Coliseum is expected to be a balanced surface for batters and bowlers. Therefore, the Super Kings can counter their batting concerns. They’ve failed to post even par totals in the last two games. Injuries haven’t been on their side either. Faf du Plessis missed the last game with back spasms, while Nandre Burger has been ruled out of the tournament.
Things haven’t been as rosy for the Unicorns. Haris Rauf was dropped for the last game, and Ravichandran Ashwin bowled just 2 overs on his MLC debut, going for 24 runs. However, their team seems to be clicking overall and not relying on individual brilliance.
- Prediction: SFU to win
MLC 2026: Live streaming & broadcast details
The SFU vs TSK match and the entire MLC 2026 season will be available on the Star Sports network on television. For the online audience, live streaming will be available on the JioHotstar app and website.
