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.
MAL
–
HKG
–
SGP
–
SAM
–
WI
189/8
AUS
190/7
Australia beat West Indies by 3 wickets
WI
–
AUS
–
RWA
–
ML
–
BHN
–
RWA
–
GLO
–
LAN
–
ALZ-W
73/8
DIF-W
74/3
Djurgardens IF Women beat Alby Zalmi Women by 7 wickets
STO-W
58/5
ALZ-W
138/2
Alby Zalmi Women won by 80 runs
DIF-W
46/0
STO-W
45/7
Djurgardens IF Women Won by 10 wickets
ALZ-W
78/2
DIF-W
75/6
Alby Zalmi Women beat Djurgardens IF Women by 8 wickets
STO-W
49/1
ALZ-W
161/0
DIF-W
–
STO-W
–
ALZ-W
–
DIF-W
–
STO-W
–
ALZ-W
–
DIF-W
–
STO-W
–
BCC
190/7
CCC
157/10
Bud Cricket Club beat City Cricket Club by 33 runs
GTC
116/8
NAJC
122/5
Nabajyoti Club beat Gauhati Town Club by 5 wickets
91YC
–
NVR
–
BCC
–
CCC
–
RWA-W
138/6
MWW-W
71/9
Rwanda Women beat Malawi Women by 67 runs
BOT-W
54/2
MZW-W
53/9
Botswana Women beat Mozambique Women by 8 wickets
SLO-W
190/6
EWW-W
41/8
Sierra Leone Women beat Eswatini Women by 149 runs
CW-W
105/9
LSN-W
50/10
Cameroon Women beat Lesotho Women by 55 runs
ENG-W
–
IND-W
–
BNC
–
CEC-A
–
RLC
–
KRMPS
–
CAT
90/3
GCF
89/7
Caribbean Tigers beat Grand Cayman Falcons by 7 wickets
VEV
31/2
BRT
117/3
CAT
–
FLI
–
VEV
–
GCF
–
MIB
–
BRT
–
FLI
–
MIB
–
CAT
–
CBS
–
GCF
–
BRT
–
CAT
–
MIB
–
VEV
–
BRT
–
BAN
–
PAK
–
UAE
59/3
NIG
58/10
United Arab Emirates won by 7 wickets
KNY
129/7
UGA
157/5
Uganda beat Kenya by 28 runs
KNY
–
NBA
–
UGA
–
NIG
–
KAK
135/9
OAW
137/5
Ossudu Accord Warriors beat Karaikal Kniights by 5 wickets
YAR
105/2
RWT
–
Match Abandoned.
OAW
–
MMS
–
KAK
–
VMK
–
ASS
203/7
BAD
199/4
Amo Sharks beat Band-e-Amir Dragons by 3 wickets
BDS
159/7
MAK
177/5
Mis Ainak Knights beat Boost Defenders by 18 runs
BAD
–
SGT
–
ASS
–
MAK
–
EDC
–
WIC
–
IAC
–
SAC
–
NZ
–
SA
–
IRE-W
–
ZIM-W
–
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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