San Francisco Unicorns vs Texas Super Kings, 8th Match, Major League Cricket 2026 - CommentarySFU vs TSK, 8th Match, Major League Cricket 2026 - Commentary

That's a wrap from this game. Join us tomorrow for live coverage of the clash between Washington Freedom and Seattle Orcas. Until then, goodbye!

Faf du Plessis: (Are you okay?) Had a stiff back before the game from the other day, missing it, and physio's orders just try and take it easy in the field. I said it's never gonna happen. (On his catch) Yeah, I was just saying, wow, if I'm on the field, I just don't know a third gear or a second gear. So as the ball was coming, I was like, I'm gonna have to dive here. (You thought 160 was a good score?) Yeah, it's a tricky wicket. I just felt like we needed to put some intensity in the first six because if you let the bowlers bowl on a wicket like that, it can be hard work. The ball was very low, so to get a solid stand, I think that's almost half the challenge when you come here. Last season, with a few games, we lost three or four in the power play, and it's really difficult to come back from that. So to get that start tonight was really important, and then Don at the back, that's what Donovan does best. (On Amshi de Silva) Yeah, and what an athlete, isn't he? Like a guy that runs around, throws himself on the field. But yeah, we were very optimistic about him before the start of the season. The guys were very excited when they got him in the draft. There was some real good chat about him and his potential. And a bowler like that on a wicket like this, it's just a bit skiddy, doesn't get that bounce. If he bowls the right lengths, it's hard work. So I'm very happy for him. He's a great kid. (What's it like playing at the Oakland Coliseum?) This place is something else. I didn't know that (unbeaten record at this venue), but thank you for reminding me. That's a good stat. I remember last year, Nandre and Milne were very efficient in the way they operated on this ground. So hopefully, we've got a bit of confidence again. Actually, Dallas is not that good for us as a home ground, but as a batter, yeah, you've got to be proper on this wicket to get it right.

Amshi de Silva | Player of the Match: (Why did you make the move to live in Dallas, Texas?) Actually, it was a tough call for me. In Sri Lanka, I played until 2024. In October 2024, I decided that I was going to resign from Sri Lanka Cricket and come to the USA to take a chance and see what the USA has to offer me in terms of cricket. I really want to thank coach Fleming, captain Faf and vice-captain Donovan. They all asked me to keep it simple, and we had been given a plan for the day. We knew that the wicket is supporting the bowlers and we had a decent score on the board. It turned out to be a good day for the bowlers, so I enjoyed it. It was kind of a redemption for me. Last game, I dropped a dolly, so I really wanted to do well. I always loved fielding, it turned out really good.

Matthew Short: (Did you feel that was a chaseable total?) Yeah, I think so. I mean, they obviously got off to a little bit of a flyer. Their two openers obviously put on a few with no loss of wickets, so they probably set the base there early, but I think we caught it back pretty well. Maybe gave them a few looseners later in their batting innings. Got away from us a little bit, so I think we're probably hoping to chase a little bit less, to be honest. (Tell me about the conditions out there?) It seemed a little bit drier this year. We saw a lot of the balls sort of skid and stay low. So leading into the next couple of games here, we're gonna have to adapt and figure out ways to score runs without the lower bounce. (How good it is to be back here?) Yeah, it's unbelievable. I mean, cricket in the U.S is obviously taking off a little bit and it's awesome to see our home fans and call this our base here in the Bay Area. So thank you everyone for coming out tonight, and hopefully we see you over the next week or so.

22:09 Local Time, 05:09 GMT, 10:39 IST: Texas Super Kings have secured a convincing 22-run victory to climb to second place in the points table. Earlier, valuable contributions from du Plessis, Saiteja Mukkamalla and Donovan Ferreira helped the Super Kings post a competitive total. In response, the San Francisco Unicorns suffered a disastrous start, losing three wickets inside the powerplay as Texas seized control. Amshi de Silva was the standout performer, dismantling the Unicorns' top order, including three wickets during the powerplay. He also produced a brilliant run-out from deep point to send Sanjay Krishnamurthi back to the pavilion. Although the Unicorns kept the scoreboard moving with regular boundaries, they continued to lose wickets at crucial intervals. Their inability to build meaningful partnerships ultimately proved costly as they fell 22 runs short of the target. Lamba and Milne took a couple of wickets apiece.

Adam Milne to Ghulam Mudassar, THATS OUT!! Bowled!!

Adam Milne to Brody Couch, THATS OUT!! Caught&Bowled!!

Equation: 27 runs needed in 18 balls. This is getting closer than expected