Washington Freedom demonstrated grit and incisive bowling to register a nail-biting 12-run win over San Francisco Unicorns in Match 19 of the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025. The high-intensity match at Grand Prairie Stadium witnessed Washington Freedom defend a total of 169, courtesy an excellent batting performance and a phenomenal individual bowling performance that steered things in their direction. This outcome yet again fuels competition in what is turning out to be a tightly contested tournament. Following the toss, Washington Freedom chose to bat, a move that at first appeared risky since they lost their wickets early. Opener Mitchell Owen was dismissed for a duck off the first ball, and Rachin Ravindra (9 off 9) and Andries Gous (1 off 2) soon followed. But the innings was stabilized by a vital stand between Glenn Phillips and Jack Edwards. Edwards was the anchor, scoring a sedate 42 runs from 42 balls, studded with just a single four and 2 sixes. Glenn Phillips then took the game by storm by scoring the highest for Freedom with a scintillating 58 runs from 39 balls, studded with 2 fours and 3 sixes, demonstrating his clean striking ability. Towards the end of the innings, Obus Pienaar brought the much-needed energy with a searing 30 from just 12 deliveries, hitting 2 fours and 2 sixes, while Mukhtar Ahmed's 17 off 9 balls (1 four, 1 six) at a quick pace helped Washington Freedom conclude on a positive note, with a fighting total of 169 for 6. The San Francisco Unicorns' bowlers worked hard, Xavier Bartlett being the best among them. He tore the ball through the Freedom top order, picking up a stunning 4 wickets for 32 runs in his four overs. Read also: Mandhana Smashes T20I Ton, India Beat England by 97 Runs Haris Rauf and Romario Shepherd also contributed with a wicket each, but the Unicorns' bowling attack leaked important runs in the death overs, enabling Freedom to post a defendable total. San Francisco Unicorns' chase of 170 to win was shaped by a stunning rampage by their opener, Matthew Short. Even after losing Finn Allen early for 7 and Jake Fraser-McGurk for 3, Short put together a strong counter-attack. He terrorized the Washington Freedom bowlers, hitting a scintillating 67 runs off only 40 balls, an innings marked by 4 fours and 6 huge sixes, single-handedly keeping his side in the game. Sanjay Krishnamurthy gave some stability with 24 from 21 deliveries, and Jahmar Hamilton later kept the Unicorns' hopes alive with a quick 31 from 18 deliveries, which included 3 fours and a six. But Washington Freedom turned things around against the Unicorns decisively through Mitchell Owen's fantastic bowling. Even though he made a golden duck with the bat, Owen made amends convincingly with the ball and bowled out a match-winning spell that destroyed the Unicorns' pursuit. He took phenomenal figures of 5 wickets for a mere 17 runs from his 3 overs, taking important wickets at frequent intervals, including the crucial one of Matthew Short, which shattered the back of the pursuit. The consistent pressure from Amila Aponso (1 wicket for 23 runs), Jack Edwards (1 wicket for 22 runs), Rachin Ravindra (1 wicket for 27 runs), and Ian Holland (1 wicket for 23 runs) saw the Unicorns never regain momentum. San Francisco Unicorns eventually finished their 20 overs at 157 for 9, 12 runs short in a thrilling game.