MI New York secured their second title in three years in Major League Cricket.
The sister franchise of the Mumbai Indians won just three games out of ten in the league stage of the recently concluded Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025. On the other hand, the Washington Freedom, champions of MLC 2024, had registered eight victories before entering the playoffs. After the two teams met in the final, the result was very much expected. The kind of form Freedom were in was always going to be too difficult for any team to disrupt. But the MI New York took matters into their own hands. They pulled the game from the jaws of defeat to clinch their second title in the tournament’s three-year history. But there was a new hero for the men in blue & gold. Rushil Ugarkar, a recent addition to the side, defended 12 runs in the last over to script an amazing victory for the champions.
AUSA-W
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INDA-W
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SVL
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ROR
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Match Abandoned due to rain
BVB
78/6
TBW
151/6
AMR
–
SVL
–
TBW
–
KNK
–
SIN-W
–
CAM-W
–
SIN-W
–
CAM-W
–
SKA
–
GAW
–
ABF
–
BR
–
ODW
139/8
SDS
23/2
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WDL
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NDT
–
CDK
–
NDS
–
NOR
180/5
HUN
118/8
Norway beat Hungary by 62 runs
NOR
195/3
SWE
93/10
Norway beat Sweden by 102 runs
SWE
123/4
HUN
122/7
Sweden beat Hungary by 6 wickets
HUN
95/5
NOR
165/6
Norway beat Hungary by 70 runs
SWE
177/6
NOR
183/4
SWE
–
HUN
–
HUN
–
NOR
–
NOR
–
SWE
–
HUN
–
SWE
–
ZAS
134/6
SOS
135/4
Sir Oliver Split beat Zagreb Sokol by 6 wickets
RJM
86/9
ZGA
92/1
Zagreb Assassins beat Rijeka Markhors by 9 wickets
RJM
106/7
SOS
112/3
Sir Oliver Split beat Rijeka Markhors by 7 wickets
ZGA
101/9
SOS
103/1
Sir Oliver Split beat Zagreb Assassins by 9 wickets
JZ-W
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LL-W
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JZ-W
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LL-W
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JZ-W
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LL-W
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JZ-W
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LL-W
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DURH
171/10
NOR
321/8
Northamptonshire beat Durham by 150 runs
BB
189/10
MID
217/10
Middlesex beat Birmingham Bears by 28 runs
ESS
417/6
SURR
173/10
Essex beat Surrey by 244 runs
DER
315/10
WOR
316/6
Worcestershire beat Derbyshire by 4 wickets
HAM
253/3
LEI
252/10
Hampshire beat Leicestershire by 7 wickets
SUSS
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LAN
338/7
GLO
–
GLAM
288/9
TCC
104/5
KGC
25/2
BNC
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NCMI
–
JJ
–
CEC-A
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SBSCC
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RTZ
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KZK
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PCR
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SML
62/6
BNB
63/2
Bengaluru Blasters won by 8 wickets
Toss delayed due to wet outfield
HBT
95/3
MGD
195/5
SML
–
GBM
–
MYW
–
HBT
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ROS
82/10
MAT
151/5
Majees Titans beat Royal Oman Stallions by 69 runs
MUT
124/6
RNC
112/10
Muscat Thunderers beat Renaissance Challengers by 12 runs
YSG
112/2
IAI
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MAT
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MUT
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IAI
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ROS
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RNC
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YSG
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SLGR
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SLGY
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AUS
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SA
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NOS
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BIP
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TRR
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SOB
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OVI
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WEF
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NOS-W
117/2
BIP-W
116/6
Northern Superchargers Women beat Birmingham Phoenix Women by 8 wickets
TRW-W
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SBW-W
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OIW-W
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WFW-W
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ACOM
161/5
HHA
162/3
Hobart Hurricanes Academy beat Australian Capital Territory by 7 wickets
MS-A
185/6
MR-A
189/5
Melbourne Renegades Academy beat Melbourne Stars Academy by 4 runs
CHK
143/8
PSA
141/7
Chicago Kingsmen beat Perth Scorchers Academy by 2 wickets
NTS
177/8
NEP
135/8
Northern Territory Strike beat Nepal by 42 runs
MR-A
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ACOM
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MS-A
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HHA
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PS
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PSA
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BANA
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NEP
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Ugarkar could very well be the option which the Mumbai Indians are looking for. The 22-year-old right-arm pacer has got a variety of deliveries in his arsenal. His unpredictable nature induces batters to make a mistake. He bowled four overs in the Final, giving away 32 runs. But most importantly, he scalped the big wickets of Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Maxwell to bring the game home.
The MI New York bowling sensation was born in Missouri, but soon moved to India along with his family. He picked up cricket while in India, and began training at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. However, he decided to shift base back to the United States due to the pandemic in 2020. In the States, Ugarkar had a good stint with the Silicon Valley Strikers in 2021 in the Minor League Cricket. Due to his impressive performances, he was soon picked up by the Dallas Mustangs for the 2023 season. Ugarkar was picked by the MI New York in 2024. He played two matches in the second edition of the tournament, but went wicketless. He scalped 11 wickets in just eight games in the recent season.
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The MI New York speedster can be a good replacement for Deepak Chahar. Barring the latter’s exploits in the powerplay, he isn’t very useful when it comes to death bowling. Chahar’s biggest strength is the swing he generates on the ball. But that goes out of the window once the powerplay is completed. Ugarkar, on the other hand, can provide a combination of both. He is good with the new ball and can be used as a first-change bowler. To add to that, his variations at the death prove that he can outsmart the batter with his tricks. Ugarkar’s skills with Jasprit Bumrah would be beneficial for the franchise.
What would be more beneficial for the Mumbai Indians is Ugarkar’s ability to adapt to different pitches. The IPL offers a vast variety of wickets which might not be similar to each other. Venues like the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow provide pitches that are known to be on the slower side. This makes run-scoring difficult. However, it is possible to strangle the run-flow and not let the batters get away with easy runs. All six deliveries which he bowled in the Final of the MLC 2025 were slower deliveries, and the batters could do nothing but swing their bats hard. This proves that Ugarkar can keep his composure under pressure. This is a quality which is highly required in a league like the IPL.
“Working with Malinga was probably the highlight. Out of all, I think he taught me so many things that I didn’t know much about cricket. We worked with the video analyst as well. There were so many matchups that they had ready. So for someone like Faf, he likes to step out a lot. He kind of goes straight towards you. So I was asked to bowl at the wide line if I saw him step out. So if he slashes, it would balloon to the fielder placed there”, said Ugarkar on Lasith Malinga’s guidance.
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