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Pollard's milestone effort in vain as MI New York suffer 47-run defeat to red-hot Unicorns
Written by Sherdon Cowan. Posted in T20s. | 24 June 2025 | 864 Views
Tags: Kieron Pollard, Matthew Short, Mi New York, Romario Shepherd, San Francisco Unicorns

Kieron Pollard marked his 700th T20 game with a lively all-round effort, as he claimed two wickets and hammered an unbeaten 34 off 16 balls, but it was not enough to prevent MI New York from slipping to their fourth defeat of the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025 season.

They were outgunned by Romario Shepherd’s unbeaten San Francisco Unicorns, who flexed their batting muscle yet again to register a commanding 47-run victory at Grand Prairie Stadium on Monday.

The Unicorns, powered by blistering knocks from Matthew Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk, piled up a daunting 246 for 4—their fourth 200-plus total in five games—before stifling MI New York’s chase despite a half-century from Quinton de Kock and support from Monank Patel and Pollard. The result pushed San Francisco further ahead at the top of the standings with 10 points from five games, while MI New York remain stuck in fourth with two points.

Scores: San Francisco Unicorns 246-4 (20 overs); MI New York 199-6 (20 overs)

Short, standing in as opener due to Finn Allen’s illness, led the Unicorns’ onslaught with a brutal 91 off 43 balls, which featured nine fours and five sixes, while Fraser-McGurk had one four and seven sixes in a fireworks-filled 64 off 26. The pair laid the foundation for a massive total with a 74-run stand after Tim Seifert went for 26.

Pollard provided brief respite for MI New York with the wickets of both top scorers in quick succession to end with 2-31, but the Unicorns’ momentum was unrelenting as Sanjay Krishnamurthi, with an unbeaten 16-ball 27, and Hassan Khan, with a brisk 31 off nine balls, added 64 runs in the final five overs. Shepherd (two) earlier holed out to Pollard off Naveen-ul-Haq.

MI New York responded positively in the powerplay, as they raced to 77 without loss. De Kock and Monank raised hopes with a 119-run opening stand—the franchise's highest of the season—but once Liam Plunkett removed Monank for 60, the innings began to unravel. Captain Nicholas Pooran continued to struggle with the bat as he contributed only 15, and the quick dismissals of De Kock (70) and Michael Bracewell (zero) by Shepherd in the 17th over left the chase in tatters.

Pollard tried to salvage the innings with some signature big-hitting, striking two sixes and two fours in a cameo that lifted MI New York, but the target had long slipped beyond reach.

Shepherd ended with 2-30, backed up by Xavier Bartlett’s 2-35.