Riding on a blistering fifties from Mitch Owen and Andries Gous Washington Freedom powered to their fourth straight win in the ongoing Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025, chasing down Texas Super Kings’ (TSK) 220/6 with two balls to spare and climbing to second on the points table.Owen and Rachin Ravindra gave Freedom a flying start, striking five boundaries in the first eight balls. Though Ravindra fell inside the powerplay, Owen capitalised on an early life — dropped on 20 in the third over — to punish TSK.Despite the aggressive start, Freedom were behind the asking rate at 72/1 after eight overs. Another drop — this time on 42 in the ninth — followed by a no-ball allowed Owen to unleash. He smacked Marcus Stoinis for back-to-back sixes and helped shift momentum.The decisive moment came in the 12th over when Noor Ahmad conceded 22 runs, followed by a brutal 24-run over off Donovan Ferreira by Gous. Stoinis briefly pulled things back with a tidy over and Owen’s dismissal on 89 gave TSK a glimmer of hope. But Gous and Glenn Maxwell kept their cool, launching late blows to bring the target within reach. Glenn Phillips eventually struck the winning boundary through backward point in the penultimate over. Gous remained unbeaten on 80—his highest score in MLC.Earlier, Faf du Plessis smashed 69 off 31 balls to anchor TSK’s innings after they were asked to bat. He and Smit Patel raced to 55 inside five overs. While TSK received steady contributions down the order, a sluggish middle phase — especially against Maxwell, who took 2 for 35 — hurt them. Owen chipped in with three wickets before starring with the bat. A late cameo of 36 off 14 balls from Calvin Savage and Shubham Ranjane pushed TSK to a competitive 220.Brief ScoresTexas Super Kings: 220/6 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 69, Marcus Stoinis 32; Mitch Owen 3/33, Glenn Maxwell 2/35) Washington Freedom: 223/3 in 19.4 overs (Mitch Owen 89, Andries Gous 80*; Adam Milne 3/42)
