MLC 2025: Du Plessis, Ferreira Fire Texas Super Kings Into Knockouts with Crushing Win Over MI New York

Texas Super Kings (TSK) stormed into the knockout stage of Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025 with a resounding 39-run victory over MI New York (MINY), powered by commanding performances from skipper Faf du Plessis and Donovan Ferreira. The South African duo lit up the scoreboard with aggressive batting before Akeal Hosein’s clinical spell with the ball extinguished MINY’s chase.

Batting first, TSK posted an imposing 223/4, driven by du Plessis’ majestic second century of the season and Ferreira’s explosive cameo. Du Plessis smashed 100 in a whirlwind innings, while Ferreira’s 53 off just 20 balls featured some of the most ferocious hitting of the tournament, including a six that helped him equal the fastest fifty in MLC history.

TSK were initially rocked by the early loss of opener Smit Patel, but du Plessis quickly took control with a flurry of boundaries, hammering Ehsan Adil and then dispatching George Linde and Trent Boult with ease. Despite a brief middle-overs slowdown, du Plessis and Ferreira reignited the innings in the final stretch, with 56 runs coming off the last three overs. The 18th over alone yielded 20 runs off Adil, while the final over saw a cascade of sixes and a record-equalling five wides by Rushil Ugarkar.

With his eighth T20 hundred, du Plessis joined an elite group of players, tying Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell, Jos Buttler, Michael Klinger, and Rohit Sharma for the fourth-most centuries in the format. He now stands at 11,755 T20 runs from 420 matches. Meanwhile, MINY’s Kieron Pollard reached a personal milestone, overtaking Alex Hales to become the second-highest run-scorer in T20 history with 13,738 runs, trailing only Chris Gayle.

MINY’s chase faltered early, with Nandre Burger removing Nicholas Pooran and Akeal Hosein delivering a decisive powerplay spell. Hosein claimed three crucial wickets, including Quinton de Kock and Tajinder Singh, to leave MINY struggling at 75/4 by the 11th over.

Pollard mounted a valiant resistance, blasting Noor Ahmad for three consecutive sixes and forging an 88-run stand that gave MINY a flicker of hope. But once Burger returned to dismiss Pollard in the penultimate over, the contest was effectively over. MINY finished on 184/9, falling short despite the skipper’s fighting 70 off 39 balls.

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