Travis Head (53), who came into the game with two half-centuries continued his merry form with another fifty. Travis Head took a liking to Zia-ul-Haq and Marcus Stoinis in the third and fourth over smashing them for 15 and 22 runs respectively.
Travis Head got to his 50 off just 20 balls. Jasdeep Singh was one of the pick off the bowlers with 3 for 25 in his 4 overs. Calvin Savage (35) tried his best for TSK to take it deep but had run out of partners at the other end. Rachin Ravindra came back in the last over picking up two wickets, four in total on the day for him and sealing a convincing 42 run victory for his side.
Pitch and Toss
It’s the same pitch used in the three previous matches. There’s just a hint of grass. As the game progresses, there’s more turn for spinners. Texas Super Kings skipper Faf Du Plessis won the toss and chose to bowl first and added Noor Ahmed in Playing XI. Washington Freedoms skipper Steve Smith batting first bought in Aponso for Holland in the Playing XI.
Travis Head got blistering start to Washington Freedoms in initial overs.
Washington Freedom comfortably beat the Texas Super Kings by 42 runs. Freedom skipper Steve Smith, chose to bat first on a used pitch, with both teams bringing in a spinner as turn was expected. Travis Head (53), who came into the game with two half-centuries continued his merry form with another fifty. Travis Head took a liking to Zia-ul-Haq and Marcus Stoinis in the third and fourth over smashing them for 15 and 22 runs respectively.
Travis Head got to his 50 off just 20 balls. Freedom managed to bring up 50 within four overs, and this forced Super Kings skipper, Faf du Plessis to bring on Noor Ahmad. He struck gold immediately and dismissed Travis Head who was induced by a tossed-up delivery, the slog sweep resulting in a simple catch at deep-midwicket.
Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith gave strong end to Freedom’s innings as they scored 206 for 5 in 20 overs
The Super Kings picked up two wickets in the next two overs with Andries Gous trapped in front by Dwayne Bravo off a full delivery while Rachin Ravindra was caught by Noor off his own bowling. With wickets tumbling regularly, Glenn Maxwell and Smith rotated the strike for a few overs with the odd boundary setting up a strong finish.
Maxwell was castled by Noor resulting in Obus Pienaar who came in and played a blistering cameo of 33 off 21 deliveries. Smith played the perfect anchor role through the carnage at the other end and brought up his fifty in the 18th over. Pienaar finished off the innings with two maximums off Stoinis in the final over taking the Freedom past the 200-run mark.
Faf Du Plessis and Devon Conway gave fierce start in the Powerplay for Texas Super Kings
In reply, the Super Kings too looked to be aggressive in the Powerplay, with in-form batters Devon Conway and Faf du Plessis. The two saw out the first two overs, and took 15 runs off Jansen in the third over. The move to bring in Maxwell in the fourth over worked wonders for Freedom who immediately had Conway trapped in front.
With an asking rate of more than 10 from the get-go, du Plessis took charge against Amila Aponso hitting three sixes and a four with 22 off the over. Super Kings had raced to 76-1 in the Powerplay. du Plessis brought up his fifty off just 19 balls in the 7th over.
Jasdeep Singh a hero as Washington Freedoms won by 42 runs
Freedom managed to pull things back with some quiet overs, while also removing Aaron Hardie who was rushed onto the pull and Joshua Tromp who holed out to long off as a result of the pressure built. Jasdeep Singh who was asked to replace Saurabh Netravalkar as he was away on paternity leave, got the big fish of Faf du Plessis, deceived by a slower ball outside off which was hit straight to long-off.
Things got worse after Milind Kumar, Marcus Stoinis and Dwayne Bravo were dismissed cheaply. Jasdeep Singh was one of the pick off the bowlers with 3 for 25 in his 4 overs. Calvin Savage (35) tried his best for TSK to take it deep but had run out of partners at the other end. Rachin Ravindra came back in the last over picking up two wickets, four in total on the day for him and sealing a convincing 42 run victory for his side.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Travis Head said after the match : I just watch the ball hard and react to it. I have the momentum from the last few games and just carrying on. My job is to get the team off to a good start and that has been my role for some time now. We thought the wicket would spin later and that’s why we wanted to maximize the powerplay. I felt it was a good wicket early on and that’s why Steve said he would bat at the toss. Just stay relaxed, keep the mind calm and keep going.
Faf Du Plessis the losing skipper said : They put you under pressure in the powerplay. Travis Head is doing that this whole season and he got them off to a flier, we pulled it back nicely after that but gave away a few too many towards the end. We started well with the bat but lost a lot of wickets in the middle overs and you need an in batter on that wicket while chasing a big total.
Resources wise we don’t have guys who can bowl 140-145kph but we have smart guys, like Noor who has a good match-up against Maxwell. We have gone well, still sitting pretty well, let guys free and hope they come good at some point in the tournament. The first objective is to qualify for the playoffs and then take it from there. You just have to cash in when you are feeling good and have the rhythm (referring to his form).
Steve Smith the winning skipper said : We are just getting better and better as the tournament has gone on. Travis has been very good, getting us off to good starts. The spinners have been good, Jasdeep too and Lockie right through the season. We are training really hard and there are no real surprises (with the results).
We have locked away a top two finish and now looking forward to the next few games. He (Jasdeep) has exceeded expectations and picked up big wickets in both the games, he has a bright future.
Jasdeep Singh was Player of the Match for 3 wickets said : The emotions are pretty high. I am just enjoying each moment. Smudge and Lockie have been tremendous help for me on the field. I just go out there and execute the plans. The wicket was two paced and we tried to bowl into the wicket.
If we keep mixing it up on this wicket it is helpful. The over Lockie bowled before me, I was watching and I tried to do the same thing. I thought about hitting the right lengths and happy it worked out.
Another comprehensive victory for Washington Freedom and they seem unstoppable at the moment. They were under the pump early on but fought back superbly to claim a 42-run victory. Faf got Texas Super Kings off to a blazing start as they raced to 76 in the powerplay but Washington’s bowlers pulled it back nicely in the middle phase.
Jasdeep, Maxwell and Ravindra shared the 10 wickets, but Lockie’s one over to Faf after the powerplay was key as he gave away only 2 wides and that resulted in Faf’s wicket. They lost 4 for 15 from overs 7.1 to 11.6 and that’s where the match was lost. Savage struck a few blows towards the end and reduced the margin of defeat.
Washington Freedom have sealed a top two finish with this victory. Texas Super Kings are still third on the points table but have to win their final league game to seal a playoff spot. Both teams end their league stage campaign with Freedom facing San Francisco Unicorns (July 22)and Texas Super Kings take on bottom placed Seattle Orcas (July 23). The Super Kings need to win their final game to be assured of qualification into the playoffs.