Shanaka blitz helps Orcas open account

A stunning blitz from Dasun Shanaka helped Seattle Orcas open their account in MLC 2026 as they picked up a five-wicket win over Washington Freedom. Shanaka came to the crease at a tricky time for the chasing side after their near-perfect innings was derailed by a flurry of wickets. But the Sri Lankan allrounder managed to smash an unbeaten 36 off a mere 12 deliveries to ease the nerves and seal a comfortable win.

Orcas inflicted a loss similar to the one they suffered 24 hours earlier as a 200+ total was chased down again. Mitchell Owen hammered 10 boundaries in a brilliant 25-ball 61. Skipper Steve Smith stuttered at the other end even as Freedom scored 82 in the Powerplay. Shanaka made the crucial breakthrough by removing Owen before following it up with Smith's wicket.

Once those two departed, Mark Chapman took charge alongside Andries Gous. Chapman was in murderous mood, flaying the bowlers en route to a rapid fifty. At the end of 14 overs, they were well placed at 175/2, with a total close to 250 looking possible. However, Ottneil Baartman shattered the stumps of Gous and Glenn Maxwell off back-to-back deliveries, sucking the momentum out of the innings. With Chapman departing the next over, the innings witnessed a stunning turnaround. They lost eight wickets in the last 6 overs to get bowled out for 216.

Tim Seifert, who smashed a century in a losing cause 24 hours earlier, was at it again. He hammered three fours and a six in the very first over of the chase against Marco Jansen. Shayan Jahangir got off to a fine start as the openers knocked off 52 runs in just 3.1 overs. After Jahangir fell, Seifert and Matthew Breetzke ran away with the game. After bringing up his fifty with a six, Seifert smashed 28 in an over off Owen to put Orcas on top.

After 9 overs, they were coasting at 123/1. In his quest for back-to-back hundreds, Seifert fell finding the fielder in the deep but Breetzke welcomed Maxwell with an 18-run over. Orcas then stuttered briefly, suffering a collapse as three batters departed in nine deliveries.

Any hopes Freedom had of a comeback evaporated when Shanaka hammered successive sixes off Ferguson. Jansen, who endured a torrid evening, couldn't stop the marauding Sri Lankan as Orcas got the job done with 14 balls to spare.

Brief scores: Washington Freedom 216 in 20 overs (Mitchell Owen 61, Mark Chapman 57; Ottneil Baartman 4-33, Dasun Shanaka 3-44) lost to Seattle Orcas 219/5 in 17.4 overs (Tim Seifert 78, Matthew Breetzke 66, Dasun Shanaka 36*) by 5 wickets