In the MLC 2025, the Washington Freedom defeated the Los Angeles Knight Riders for the third time in a row, led by Glenn Maxwell‘s scorching century and Mitch Owen’s all-around performance. They lost by 113 runs on Tuesday night as Freedom won for the second time.
When put into bat, Owen destroyed Corne Dry, Shadley van Schalkwyk, and Jason Holder his route to a scorching 32 off 11 balls. Freedom roared to 53 runs despite losing three wickets in the opening four overs. The scoring rate then decreased as wickets kept falling at regular intervals, and the defending champions were down to 98 for 5 at the end of the 13th over.
But that’s when Maxwell, who wasn’t playing well, started to shine.
The captain laid up the base for a late flourish after hitting Jason Sangha for three straight sixes. He reached his half-century after smashing Narine for another six a few overs later. Dry, Holder, and Andre Russell also took the brunt of his attack, which included 13 hits over the ropes and just two fours, as the six-fest went on. He finished undefeated at 106, leading his side to a commanding 208 for 5.
Obus Pienaar contributed just 14 runs off 15 balls while serving as the sixth wicket’s supporting actor in the 116-run undefeated partnership.
None of the top three were able to get off the mark, and LAKR were put on the defensive early on. Only two of the top eight batters actually scored in double figures. Mitch Owen and Jack Edwards swiftly added to the early damage caused by Saurabh Netrawalkar and Mark Adair, reducing LAKR to 26 for 5 halfway through the eighth over.
Although they never appeared to be in a position to try to win, Sai Badar and Holder stitched a 35-run partnership for the sixth wicket to save the team from a hazardous situation. Another collapse occurred after Owen trapped Badar legbefore.
Despite considerable opposition from Dry and van Schalkwyk, their dismissal for 95 in the 17th over was really a formality.
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