Scorecard Summary

TEXAS SUPER KINGS 171/9(20 OVERS)

Rilee Rossouw24 (13)
Shubham Ranjane*51 (34)

Andre Russell2/38 (3.5)
Jason Holder3/33 (4)

LOS ANGELES KNIGHT RIDERS 172/4(19.1 OVERS)

Colin Munro62 (36)
Matthew Tromp*58 (28)

Hardus Viljoen2/42 (4)
Akeal Hosein1/16 (4)

Scorer: Chetan Kumar | Commentator: Rashad Mahbub

Well, folks, that brings an end to the league phase of the MLC and another action-packed double-header. Thank you for tuning in and staying with us throughout the day. Make sure to join us again for the next round of action, with the Qualifier and the Eliminator 1 both taking place on July 15th. Until then, this is Rashad Mahbub signing off on behalf of Chetan Kumar and the rest of the Cricinfo crew. Adios!

Jason Holder: "[What pleased you most about this evening?] Just the way we went about the chase, you know, it was very clinical. I thought the bowlers did an outstanding job just to restrict them to 170. We got wickets at crucial stages to peg them back, and then we were able to just have a really controlled chase. Obviously, it was set up by the two openers, who have been doing a phenomenal job for us over this season, and then Trompy has been very consistent for us in the top order. So, credit to those three. We were always comfortable [run chase]. We knew there were big overs to be had, especially on the leg side hitting with the wind. Those are the overs that we pretty much targeted. I think we've had a really good template here in Dallas, and it has worked well for us; six from six playing here. Hopefully, we can play a little bit more here in the future, but we head off to San Francisco tomorrow to get onto the business end of the tournament. [Approach in the Playoffs] Yeah, we're going to see how the wicket plays. I don't think it will be as slow as it was in the preliminary stage, and I hope it's a better wicket for cricket. We expect a really good contest from the Unicorns. They've been playing some really good cricket, so we just hope that we can play our best game. [Ali Khan's injury] It's split. He had a split webbing before the tournament, and it has obviously reopened. We'll monitor it over the next couple of days, but he seems enthusiastic. He's in good spirits, so hopefully we have him for the next game."

Player of the Match, Matthew Tromp: "[Batting approach] I mean, just as positive as I can be. The whole season, that's pretty much been my motto. I've had some great chats with Watto [Shane Watson] and Bravo, and they've given me such confidence in my game. I've just gone out there to play my game, and it's paying off. [Last four innings] Yeah, it's surreal, man. I put in the hard work in the off-season. I was in New Zealand for six months training and playing, and I'm glad that the hard work is finally starting to pay off a little bit. We have a long way to go, though. We have two big playoff games. Hopefully, we can win the first one, then win the final, and lift this trophy. [Win tonight] Oh, it's massive. We've loved this venue, and going to San Francisco, we lost two there, but we got a lot of learnings from it. I'm confident in our team to bring home the title."

Faf du Plessis: "[Did you feel 171 was going to be enough?] No, I thought the same as yesterday. I thought we were 20 or 30 runs short again. You feel on this wicket you need to be 180 plus to really feel in the game. So it was the same thing as yesterday, where we got good starts but didn't have that big partnership or those big contributions to set you up. 30s never really give you match-winning performances, so I definitely feel we were 20 runs short. [Struggled to take wickets in the first 10] Yeah, but we fought well. I mean, we showed good character to scratch it away all the way to the end, and the boys were brilliant. Akeal Hosein was fantastic, so they tried really hard. There was one dropped chance in the field. I think it's the fourth game in a row where we have had a dropped chance that just makes those close games slip away. So unfortunately, we aren't doing the small things well. [Reflect on the season] It's disappointing. I thought throughout the season we were inconsistent in the way that we played as a team. We weren't accurate in the way that we did things. It felt like we were playing at 70 or 80 percent and then at crucial moments, we just lost those key battles. I felt that was a consistent thing right throughout the season. In those moments, you need someone to take it by the scruff of the neck, whether it's building a batting partnership and getting that 70-plus score, or with the ball just closing the game down. There were three or four occasions where we took the game right to the wire, and unfortunately, it just fell the other way."

11:26 pm Another clinical finish from LAKR. With today's victory, the Los Angeles Knight Riders secure second place on the points table and book their spot in the Qualifier. Munro went all guns blazing right from the start, smashing 46 of LAKR's 54 runs in the Powerplay. He brought up his fifty off just 27 balls and was later dropped by Lamba on 51. The opening partnership had reached 87 when Hosein cleaned up Munro for 62 off 36 balls right after the drinks break. A mini-collapse followed as Russell and Spiceman both went back to the hut shortly after Munro's dismissal. However, Tromp then joined the party, putting on a display of fine strokeplay all around the ground, clearing the fences and piercing the gaps with ease. After being dropped by Viljoen on 16, Tromp made full use of the lifeline to bring up a half-century off just 25 balls, earning a massive round of applause and a standing ovation from the dugout. Tromp remained unbeaten on 58 off 28 balls, taking his team over the line with comfort. For the Super Kings, Viljoen grabbed two scalps while Hosein finished with one.

Los Angeles Knight Riders won by 6 wickets

19.1

de Silva to Tromp, 1 run, Bowls a low full toss on the stumps, driven with soft hands to mid-off and sets off for a quick single. A direct hit would have been the end of Tromp's wonderful innings today, but the cricket gods wanted the youngster to remain unbeaten and take his team over the line. Faf gives a pat on the shoulder of de Silva, who looks devastated.

Scores Level. Here's Amshi de Silva. Around the wicket

END OF OVER:
19 | 18 Runs 1 Wkt | LAKR: 171/4 (1 run required from 6 balls, RR: 9.00, RRR: 1.00)

Jason Holder6 (1b)
Matthew Tromp57 (27b)

Hardus Viljoen4-0-42-2
Abhimanyu Lamba4-0-29-0

18.6

Viljoen to Holder, SIX, That should be the game! Oh, it isn't! Bowls a full toss on the leg stump channel, Holder casually helps it away using the pace of the ball and clips it over fine leg.

Jason Holder is in at number 6

18.5

Viljoen to Powell, OUT, low full toss ball on the stumps, Powell tries to send it downtown to go for an early finish, mishits the slog stroke and finds Ferreira at long on, who makes no mistake and gobbles it up with the reverse cup technique.

R Powell c Ferreira b Viljoen 8 (27m 11b 0x4 0x6) SR: 72.72

18.4

Viljoen to Tromp, 1 run, fuller and offers width outside off, driven firmly to cover

18.3

Viljoen to Tromp, SIX, That's gone miles up in the air and lands over the midwicket ropes! Pace off, back of the hand ball around off, picks up the length early and flicks it high in the air towards midwicket. Two fielders converge and wait near the ropes, but they just stand and watch the ball sail over them.

18.2

Viljoen to Tromp, FOUR, Clean as a whistle! Full and straight in the slot, plays through the line of the ball and smokes it straight over the bowler's head