MLC Final preview | Pooran and Maxwell set to battle for MLC title

Yesterday at 7:29 PM

The final game between MI New York (MINY) and Washington Freedom (WF) will be held on July 14 at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas. The two teams will be chasing their second MLC title in the upcoming encounter. It will also mark the battle of T20 greats in Glenn Maxwell and Nicholas Pooran.

‌The Grand Prairie Stadium will be hosting the final of Major League Cricket 2025 between MI New York and Washington Freedom on July 14. The winner of this encounter will also determine which team will become the most dominant side in the tournament after lifting their second trophy.

MI New York had a slow start to their series, managing to just scrape through to the playoffs with three wins in the 10 matches they played in the league stage. However, the Nicholas Pooran-led side looked in great touch in the playoffs, beating San Francisco Unicorns in the eliminator and dominating the Texas Super Kings in qualifier two. The New York Franchise’s recent form in T20 cricket has been phenomenal, with only one loss and four wins in the last five games they have played, and they will hope that the momentum carries on in the all-important final on Monday.

Washington Freedom, on the other hand, were the most dominant side in the round-robin stage. The defending champions finished on top of the table with eight wins and two losses in the ten matches. While they might struggle with a lack of game time since they qualified in the finals after the first qualifier against TSK was abandoned, they will still be high on confidence with how they have performed all season. Their in-form all-rounders in skipper Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, and Mitchell Owen will be in the limelight going into the game.

MINY: W W L W W

WF: NR W W L W

MINY vs WF Head-to-Head in T20S

The two teams have featured together in six MLC games, where the Washington franchise has been the most dominant in the head-to-head battle. The Freedom have won four games, while MINY has only won two and has not beaten them since the inaugural season in 2023.

MINY 2-4 WF

Pitch and Weather

The surface at the Grand Prairie Stadium has been a ground where the teams have enjoyed chasing down totals..The highest total at this venue this season is 246, and the highest total chased down is 238 by Seattle Orcas. These stats suggest that there is a chance for another high-scoring bout.

The weather reports are looking promising in Dallas, where the last temperature is expected to be 28 degrees Celsius. Though the weather might be slightly cloudy, there are very low chances of rain.

Team News

Both teams are expected to stick to the same team that was decided in their last game before the final.

MINY Probable XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Monank Patel, Michael Bracewell, Nicholas Pooran (c), Kieron Pollard, Kunwarjeet Singh, Tajinder Dhillon, Tristan Luus, Trent Boult, Noshtush Kenjige, Rushil Ugarkar.

WF Probable XI: Mitchell Owen, Rachin Ravindra, Andries Gous (wk), Glenn Phillips, Glenn Maxwell (c), Mukhtar Ahmed, Obus Pienaar, Jack Edwards, Ian Holland, Lockie Ferguson, Saurabh Netravalkar.