The Washington Liberty kept their nerve in the final games to beat the San Francisco Unicorns by seven runs in the Major League Baseball (MLC) Knockout Round 2 on Friday and set up a final against the LA Knight Riders on Sunday (IST).Defending 238, Liberty looks under pressure as San Francisco captain Matthew Short The Unicorns posted an unbeaten 121 off 56 balls but Saurabh Netravalkar and Mitchell Owen ended the game with a disciplined final ball to deny the Unicorns a place in the title race.Liberty elected to bat first and took full advantage of a strong start from their top order.Mitchell Owen’s 42 off 19 balls and skipper Steven Smith’s 43 off 20 balls took the team’s Powerplay record to 83/1 in the first match. Andries Gous then anchored the innings with his 73 off 40 balls, hitting eight fours and three sixes.Rachin Ravindra scored 28 off just 14 balls as Freedom ended with 238/6 in 20 overs.Xavier Bartlett, the rookie bowler for the Unicorns, took 3 for 38 in four overs.San Francisco’s pursuit got off to a rocky start, losing both openers early. Lhuan-dre Pretorius hit 18 of his first 10 shots while Finn Allen hit 14 of 9.That left Short almost alone to win the game. The skipper hit 11 fours and eight sixes in his unbeaten 121-run knock, maintaining the required strike rate despite falling wickets regularly at the other end.Bartlett’s bat also contributed, with 28 off 13 balls, and with two overs remaining, the Unicorns still needed just 29 runs off Short’s excellent set-up.However, Liberty turned the game around in the closing stages.Netravalkar played a crucial 19th over, conceding only 7 runs, with San Francisco needing 22 more in the final over.Irving gave up 28 points on his first possession earlier in the frame but bounced back when it mattered most. He allowed just 14 points in the final round to seal a seven-point victory and send Freedom to the finals.It was another painful exit for the Unicorns, who also narrowly lost out in the qualifying rounds despite being top of the league. Their second chance at the finals slipped away as the Liberty successfully defended their title and met the Los Angeles Cavaliers in the championship game.
