Short's one-man show in vain as Freedom book final berth

Washington Freedom survived a stunning one-man show from Matt Short to book their place in the MLC 2026 final after another run-fest at the Oakland Coliseum. Less than 24 hours after chasing down a record 266 in the Eliminator, Freedom piled up 238 before holding off the league-stage toppers by seven runs in the Challenger to set up a title clash against Los Angeles Knight Riders.

There weren't quite the 51 sixes that lit up the previous night's thriller, but the ball disappeared into the stands 35 times. Freedom struck 18 of those sixes after being asked to bat, with Mitchell Owen setting the tone by launching the second ball of the match over long-on. San Francisco's bowlers kept things relatively quiet through the first half of the Powerplay, only for Owen and Steve Smith to explode with 58 runs in the next three overs.

Fresh off his century in the record chase, Smith raced to 40 off just 17 balls before Owen stole the spotlight, hammering Hassan Khan for four sixes in the final over of the Powerplay. Owen fell off the last ball of that over for 42, but not before giving Freedom the perfect launchpad.

Smith departed immediately after the field restrictions, brilliantly caught behind by Lhuan-dre Pretorius, bringing in Andries Gous. Gous settled instantly, taking Short for a four and a six, while Rachin Ravindra matched him stroke for stroke in a brisk 56-run stand before departing for a 14-ball 28. Ghulam Mudassar's tidy middle-overs spell briefly stemmed the flow, but Gous found another gear to bring up a 28-ball fifty.

Gous carried on until the first ball of the final over, making 73 off 40, but Freedom couldn't quite produce the finishing burst they would have wanted. Haris Rauf's expensive 19th over, which leaked 20 runs, helped arrest a brief slowdown, but Freedom still finished on 238.

It should still have been chased down only if Short received even a semblance of support. The captain took it upon himself to keep the chase alive, smashing four sixes off Owen in a 28-run sixth over that lifted San Francisco to 74 in the Powerplay. Ravindra grassed him on 49, and Short immediately made him pay by launching him over long-on two balls later.

However, from 102 for 2 at the start of the ninth over, the Unicorns slipped to 109 for 4, leaving Short with too much to do. Hassan Khan's 21 off 16 balls failed to ease the mounting required rate, and the asking rate continued to climb despite Short bringing up a magnificent 46-ball hundred. He reduced the equation to 29 off the last two overs, but Saurabh Netravalkar delivered a superb penultimate over, conceding just seven runs. That left Owen with 22 to defend in the final over, and the all-rounder closed it out to send Freedom into a second MLC final.

Brief scores:
Washington Freedom 238/6 in 20 overs (Andries Gous 73, Steve Smith 43, Mitchell Owen 42; Xavier Bartlett 3-36) beat San Francisco Unicorns 231/6 in 20 overs (Matthew Short 121*; Saurabh Netravalkar 1-35, Ben Dwarshius 2-44) by 7 runs