Major League Cricket 2023 (MLC) kicked off with Texas Super Kings thrashing Los Angeles Knight Riders by 69 runs in the curtain raiser at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Friday, July 13. South African big-hitter David Miller and Pakistani spinner Mohammad Mohsin shone for the Super Kings' opening clash to take an early lead in the points table.
Los Angeles Knight Riders skipper Sunil Narine won the toss and elected to bowl first. Kiwi speedster Lockie Ferguson delivered opponent captain Faf du Plessis' wicket on the innings' third delivery to give his team a sensational start but the Super Kings were quick to recover.
Devon Conway scored a brilliant fifty and Miller top-scored with 61 off 42 to post a challenging total of 181/6. Lockie Ferguson and Ali Khan took two wickets each for the Knight Riders while the spin duo of Sunil Narine and Adam Zampa took one each.
USA veteran pacer Juan Theron gave the Super Kings a flying start with valuable wickets of Martin Guptill and Rilee Rossouw in the very first over. Los Angeles side struggled to recover from the stumbling start and never showed signs of a comeback in the game.
Star Caribbean batter Andre Russell smashed 55 off 34 but he didn't get any support from his teammate as Knight Riders were bowled out on 112 runs in 14 overs. Mohammad Mohsin picked four wickets while conceding just eight runs while Theron and Gerald Coetzee took two each for the Super Kings. David Miller bagged the Player of the Match award ahead of Mohsin and Conway.
"Good to get off to a good start, the win for the team was great. A month off since IPL and then I was working here for the last few days. The mental side of the game is definitely some rest and then prepare for the game. The opening game at MLC to see such a great turnout was fantastic. A few guys had a few questions of how it was going to be here but they have all been answered," David Miller said during the post-match presentation.
