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July 6, 2024 - 8:03 am

Discarded Indian player shines for Knight Riders in their MLC 2024 Opening game

Unmukt Chand played an excellent hand to guide the Los Angeles Knight Riders to a commanding win over the Texas Super Kings.

Former Indian cricketer Unmukt Chand showed off his best for the Los Angeles Knight Riders on Friday when he slammed a 45-ball 68 against the Texas Super Kings in Dallas in the second game of Major League Cricket 2024. This stunning knock came after an unfair and unexpected exclusion from the USA squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup.

However, the 31-year-old cricketer’s stunning knock  helped the Knight Riders get their victory by batting first and posting a great total of 162 against a strong Faf du Plessis-led side. Chand, who had guided India to the U-19 World Cup title in 2012, was surprisingly excluded from the USA’s T20 World Cup team. However, the USA had an outstanding show in the matches, knocking out the Babar Azam-led Pakistan to advance to the Super 8 stage. The side only suffered a defeat against the eventual champions, India, in the group stage.

However, during the chase, Spencer Johnson took Du Plessis’s wicket in the fifth over of the game. Devon Conway anchored the innings after Aaron Hardie struggled and eventually fell to Shakib-Al-Hasan. Devon Conway, Joshua Tromp, and Milind Kumar were all dismissed by Ali Khan in the fourteenth over. Then Marcus Stoinis was ousted by LAKR skipper Sunil Narine. While Calvin Savage made a 18-ball cameo of 29 runs in the death overs, he failed to chase down the target. The Texas Super Kings managed to reach 150/8 and fell short by 13 runs, with Johnson and Ali delivering great bolwing performances.

Also Read: Arshdeep Singh makes candid admission on post T20 World Cup

Struggled with the bat but Unmukt batted really well to get us that total: Narine

Meanwhile, LAKR skipper Sunil Narine expressed his happiness after his side won their opening game against TSK. Notably, the LAKR camp had a poor season last year, as they went on to finish in the last spot with just a single win in the whole marquee event. Narine lauded former India star Chand’s batting after the thrilling game.

“We played a good game. Struggled with the bat but Unmukt batted really well to get us that total. Have to back yourself. If you think too much about the pitch it could affect your game. Pitch is going to do what is going to do so have a clear mindset and play. On the day yes there’s a lot of stats and matchups, but cricket is played on the field/day,” LAKR skipper Sunil Narine said.

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