He churned out another match-winning knock to bail his team out of troubled waters.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) batter Shimron Hetmyer continues to impress with his supreme batting expertise in the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025. While playing for Seattle Orcas, the southpaw churned out another match-winning knock to bail his team out of troubled waters and take them over the line.
Hetmyer scored 78 runs in just 37 deliveries, including four boundaries and seven maximums, at a strike rate of 210.81. Also, 74.35% of his runs came via fours and sixes as he scored 46.15% of the team’s runs alone in this game.
PAL
–
MPS
–
HS
–
MDS
–
WI
–
AUS
–
BSAS
48/2
SOST
–
BMP
–
BSP
–
BSP
–
SOST
–
BMP
–
BSAS
–
BSP
–
BSAS
–
BSAS
–
CCYMT
–
BMP
–
CCYMT
–
BMP
–
BSP
–
BSP
–
BSAS
–
CCYMT
–
BSAS
–
ENG-W
–
IND-W
–
SIN-W
48/8
INA-W
49/1
LLG
–
MUR
–
NWW
–
NK
–
LEX
–
TGS
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
MB
–
MR
–
GG
–
MR
–
LAKR
–
MINY
–
SFU
–
TSKS
–
WAF
–
SOR
–
ENGA-W
–
NZA-W
–
AUS A
–
SL-A
–
IYH
–
CBG
–
PTS
–
AMW
–
WTS
–
BMB
–
IYH
–
AMW
–
CSG
–
DID
–
DURH
–
NOT
–
SOM
–
GLAM
–
KENT
–
SUSS
–
YOR
–
WOR
–
NOR
–
LAN
–
LEI
–
BB
–
ESS
–
GLO
–
DUR-W
–
SOM-W
–
TBLZ-W
–
HAM-W
–
When he came to bat, the Orcas were 56/3 in 9.2 overs, which soon turned into 89/5 in 12.1 overs, but Hetmyer again showed his ability to remain calm and weaved a calculated knock. While he stitched partnerships with the next two batters, Hetmyer did the heavy lifting as a batter and scored the bulk of the runs to keep his team in the chase.
Eventually, he completed the chase in 19.3 overs from a precarious situation, showing his worth as a lower-middle-order batter after a shaky last few months. Hetmyer won the Player of the Match award for his unbeaten knock against the San Francisco Unicorns.
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Rajasthan Royals (RR) retained Shimron Hetmyer for INR 11 crores before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction, but the Caribbean batter couldn’t repay the faith. He could only score 239 runs at an abysmal average of 21.72 and a 145.73 strike rate in 13 innings, including a fifty.
One major missing piece in his batting was his ability to finish the games, which was a prime reason to retain him, as RR failed to chase down the target several times in the final over in IPL 2025. However, he has improved on that aspect and finally shown why RR put ample trust in his abilities by nailing the same role in MLC 2025.
RR might have a thought of releasing him to free some purse after middling returns in IPL 2025, but his impressive knocks in the US-based league must give them a reason to back him next season. This tournament has surely boosted Hetmyer’s chances of being retained ahead of the IPL 2026 auction.
The role Hetmyer performs is hard to replicate, and few quality options are available in the market, even in the overseas department. Hence, RR might think of giving him more chances, especially given his previous success with the franchise.
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