Kieron Pollard held his nerve in a tense final as MI New York cruised past Seattle Orcas by five wickets in a low-scoring thriller at Major League Cricket 2026 on Thursday.Defending a modest total of 132, MI New York survived a late scare to register a crucial win after Marcus Stoinis and Jasdeep Singh threatened to launch an incredible chase after the Orcas.Earlier, Quinton de Kock anchored MI New York’s innings with a composed 61 off 46 balls, hitting six fours and two sixes. However, despite a strong start, MI New York struggled to maintain the momentum in the second half of their innings, managing just 132/8 from their 20 overs.After Monank Patel went scoreless, de Kock and captain Nicholas Pooran anchored the innings with a 47-run partnership. Tajinder Dhillon chipped in with a useful 23, but the Seattle bowlers responded brilliantly. Marcus Stoinis led the attack with figures of 3/14 while Ottneil Baartman and Jasdeep Singh claimed two wickets each to restrict MI New York.In response, the Seattle Orcas never found any rhythm. Trent Boult struck early with the dismissal of Shayan Jahangir, while Corbin Bosch removed Matthew Breetzke as the Orcas fell to 14/2.Romario Shepherd then produced a match-winning spell, taking 3/16, including the wickets of Tim Seifert, Shehan Jayasurija and Shimron Hetmyer.With wickets falling regularly, Stoinis became Seattle’s lone fighter, scoring a determined 36 off 31 balls. However, the asking rate continued to rise.The contest took a dramatic turn in the penultimate over when Jasdeep Singh smashed Boult for two fours and a six, leaving Seattle needing 14 runs from the final over. Stoinis raised hopes by launching Pollard’s first delivery for a six, but the veteran all-rounder had the last word. Romario Shepherd made a sharp catch to dismiss Stoinis before Pollard calmly wrapped up the game, prompting jubilant celebrations from the MI New York players.
