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NEW DELHI: Lhuan-dre Pretorius smashed his maiden T20 Century to power San Francisco Unicorns to a dominant nine-wicket victory over MI New York in Major League Cricket (MLC) 2026 at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Thursday.Chasing a modest target of 144, the young South African wicketkeeper-batsman remained unbeaten on 102 off just 52 balls, hitting 10 fours and five sixes. He reached his maiden T20 hundred at a strike rate of 196.15 to take the Unicorns home in just 15.4 overs. Pretorius was named man of the match.The big win helped the San Francisco Unicorns climb to the top of the points table. They now have five wins and three losses from eight matches, with 10 points and a +0.590 net result.MI New York, meanwhile, fell to third place. They have four wins and four losses from eight matches, eight points and a net result of -0.208.
Pretorius authorizes easy pursuit
San Francisco got off to a great start with Pretorius and Finn Allen adding 52 runs for the opening wicket.Allen scored 20 off 17 balls, including three fours, before being dismissed by Romario Shepherd.Pretorius, however, continued to dominate the MI New York bowlers. He was supported by captain Matthew Short, who remained unbeaten on 19 off 25 balls as the two put together an unbroken stand of 94 runs for the second wicket.Pretorius completed the chase in style with his maiden T20 century, ensuring the Unicorns reached 146/1 with 26 balls to spare.
Pretorius delighted after his first T20 hundred
After receiving the man-of-the-match award, Pretorius admitted that reaching three figures was on his mind, having fallen short twice before.“Well, at first I was thinking about getting the team over the line and winning the game, but I’d be lying if I said 100 wasn’t in the back of my mind because I missed a few times. But yeah, it was good fun and I’m really happy we won.”“We (Pretorius and captain Matthew Short) were just joking about it, no, not really. We didn’t really talk about it at all. But in the back of my mind I really wanted 100. But the most important part was to get the team over the line and I’m glad we did that. And yes, I’m a believer if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be, and luckily tonight it was.”Pretorius also praised the atmosphere inside the Unicorns camp.“Yeah, really good. It’s one of the best environments I’ve played cricket in. I haven’t played in a lot of teams yet, but yeah, it’s one of the best environments, if not the best, I’ve been a part of. And yeah, I’m really grateful to be here. It’s so much fun.”“I was actually using Finn’s (Finn Allen) bat. I don’t think if I had used my own bat I wouldn’t have been able to hit those big sixes. Now I’m going to ask him nicely if I can take the club and keep it in my bag (laughs).”
Matt Short, Hardie shine with the ball
Earlier, San Francisco Unicorns bowled with discipline to restrict MI New York to 143/9 in their 20 overs.Ryan Rickelton top-scored with 35 off 21 balls while Sunny Patel scored 32 off 23. Captain Nicholas Pooran battled for 19 off 24 balls and Kieron Pollard managed 16 off 13.Captain Matthew Short led from the front with the ball, picking up 3/24 in four overs. Aaron Hardie took 2/17 while Haris Rauf also claimed two wickets. Brody Couch and Anirudh Immanuel took one wicket each.
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