The final match of the Major League Cricket regular season could have something on it or it could be a dead rubber depending on how the first MLC 2025 game goes on Sunday. It sees the Los Angeles Knight Riders facing the San Francisco Unicorns.
The Knight Riders know that it is it for them as far as the MLC 2025 campaign is concerned after this match while San Francisco will take their season into the playoffs but this match could determine where they finish in the table.
Los Angeles Knight Riders
This has been a totally miserable season for the Los Angeles Knight Riders but the good thing for them is they will be put out of their misery after this match as they can no longer make it into the finals. They will want to go out with a win and put some gloss on a record which currently has just one win from their nine matches in the competition. Sometimes poor records like that aren’t always reflective of the displays on the field but on this occasion that isn’t the case.
Of the eight matches that they have been beaten in this season, it is only really the last match where they probably threw away a winning position but in many ways the way that they failed to get over the line was symptomatic of their season. It just hasn’t been good enough. That was probably the first time the bowling really showed up but they just haven’t lived up to the expectations with the bat at any stage in this competition and they have paid the price.
San Francisco Unicorns
This match could mean nothing for the San Francisco Unicorns or it could be the match that gives them the chance to seal a top two spot in the table. If the Washington Freedom have won earlier in the day then San Francisco will need to win here to finish in the top two. They will finish top of the table with a win regardless of what happens in the earlier game but were Washington to win then San Francisco would only finish third were they to lose here and would be playing knockout cricket as soon as they get to Dallas.
Whether they need to win or not the Unicorns would like their batting to come good again. Conditions will suit them much more in Dallas than they do here but if they can take a couple of players with confidence with them then it will certainly be no bad thing. The Unicorns probably produced their best bowling display of the competition last time out and they will be looking to build on that over the course of this match.
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Key Players
Andre Russell is one of the few Los Angeles Knight Riders players who can hold their head high when he departs this competition. He has produced more with the bat than might have been expected and has been solid enough with the ball.
Romario Shepherd is a player who knows that even though this ground is the biggest of the three and the wickets are a bit sluggish here the boundary isn’t big enough to contain him. Add in his bowling and he is a key man for San Francisco.
Betting
It is hard to think that this will be anything but a San Francisco Unicorns win regardless of the result of the earlier game. It might just be that if Washington have lost earlier in the day then the margin of the victory with no pressure on the Unicorns will be even wider than it might be. It is difficult to think that the Los Angeles Knight Riders will offer anything here, although they do have match winners who could be dangerous with no competitive pressure on them.
What they also have is an aging side so going again the day after their last defeat isn’t going to be an easy task and that is something that is very much on the side of the Unicorns who haven’t been in action since Friday afternoon. San Francisco are a little short to back on the nose but the handicap line isn’t the biggest and that is where my interest lies. They have enough batting depth and solid bowling options to get the job done by at least five wickets or 11 runs, as they showed in the first game between the two which they won by 32 runs.
Tips
Back San Francisco Unicorns (-4.5wickets/10.5runs) to beat Los Angeles Knight Riders for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
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