Imad Wasim excels as Seattle Orcas defeat Washington Freedom by five wickets in the MLC 2023 final

At Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Friday, the Seattle Orcas defeated the Washington Freedom in an exciting five-wicket triumph. The Orcas held Washington Freedom to 144/7 before completing the run chase in 19.4 overs.

The Washington Freedom had a rough start after being sent in to bat by the Orcas at the toss, losing the wickets of Matthew Short (2) and Mukhtar Ahmed (5) inside the first three overs. Even so, Andries Gous (age 28) and Glenn Phillips (age 20) kept the ship afloat, and by the time both of them were out, Washington Freedom had almost reached the 100-run threshold.

Captain Moises Henriques (24) made a significant contribution but was unable to remain longer in the starting lineup. After losing half of their team for 89 runs, the Washington Freedom were in trouble. The Washington Freedom reached 144/7 in their 20 overs thanks to Akeal Hosein (33*), who grabbed control at the end of the innings and launched a counterattack in the last overs. Imad Wasim, Cameron Gannon, and Andrew Tye each picked up one wicket for the Seattle Orcas, while Wayne Parnell and Harmeet Singh both picked up two wickets.

Anrich Nortje of the Washington Freedom bowled fiercely as the Orcas started their batting session, and finally the speedster defeated Quinton de Kock (10), a member of his international side. On the opposite end, Nauman Anwar was effectively developing his knock and attempting to keep Seattle in the match. But when Seattle found themselves in a bind, Shehan Jayasuriya (age 6) and Heinrich Klaasen (age 1) were the next to go.

In the eighth over, Imad Wasim joined Nauman. The two withstood the strain before shifting up around the halfway point of the chase. The pair put up the largest partnership of the game, scoring 53 runs off just 39 deliveries to lay the groundwork for the spectacular conclusion. Nauman, however, would not be playing in the last over as Dane Piedt dismissed him for 48 runs in the 14th over.

Imad Wasim and Shimron Hetmyer had to put the finishing touches on the game with Seattle needing 27 from the last 3 overs. The pair delivered as expected, reducing the equation from 6 to 6, but Hetmyer was trapped for 23 by Marco Jansen in the second delivery of the last over. Shubham Ranjane, though, hit back-to-back boundaries to end the game with two balls remaining.

Brief scores: Seattle Orcas defeated Washington Freedom 144/7 (Akeal Hosein 33*, Andries Gous 28, Harmeet Singh 2/24) by five wickets (Nauman Anwar 48, Imad Wasim 43*, Moises Henriques 1/8).