Los Angeles Knight Riders 172 for 4 (Munro 62, Tromp 58*, Viljoen 2-42) beat Texas Super Kings 171 for 9 (Ranjane 51, Holder 3-33) by six wickets
Matthew Tromp's unbeaten 58 off 28 balls powered Los Angeles Knight Riders to a six-wicket win over Texas Super Kings in Dallas, sealing second place on the MLC points table. Chasing 172, LAKR got home with five balls to spare to complete their league campaign on a high, while TSK's fifth successive defeat consigned them to sixth place. LAKR will now face San Francisco Unicorns in the Qualifier on Thursday in Oakland.
TSK looked well placed for a bigger total after Faf du Plessis and Rilee Rossouw struck brisk cameos, but Sunil Narine's miserly spell (4-0-15-1) applied the brakes early. Shubham Ranjane then held the innings together with an unbeaten 51 off 34, adding useful contributions with Dian Forrester (24) and Donovan Ferreira (19), before Jason Holder's three wickets and Andre Russell's double strike restricted TSK to 171 for 9.
LAKR's chase was built on Colin Munro's 62 off 36, which gave them early control despite Andre Fletcher's slower-paced 26. TSK briefly bounced back through Hardus Viljoen, who dismissed Russell and later Rovman Powell, while Fletcher was run out to leave LAKR needing a steady finish.
Tromp ensured there would be no late drama. He counterattacked immediately, striking seven fours and two sixes in his unbeaten fifty. Tromp's innings capped a clinical chase as LAKR carried winning momentum into the playoffs.
