Short’s All-Round Masterclass Powers Unicorns Past Super Kings

San Francisco Unicorns won by 7 wickets (with 13 balls remaining) to hand Texas Super Kings their first defeat of the MLC 2026 campaign. A clinical chase led by Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Matthew Short made light work of TSK’s 152/9, but it was Short’s all-round contribution – 31 off 19 with the bat and 2/25 with the ball – that truly swung this contest.

Full scorecard: TSK vs SFU, 4th Match, MLC 2026

First Innings – Texas Super Kings 152/9 (20 overs)

TSK’s innings never found sustained momentum. Saiteja Mukkamalla fell for 1 in the second over and Faf du Plessis followed shortly after for 6, leaving them 9/2 inside three overs. Milind Kumar injected some urgency with 17 off 11 including two sixes, but his dismissal at 29/2 left TSK needing a rebuild.

Rilee Rossouw took on that role, compiling 36 off 29 with five fours. He looked set to push the innings deeper, but a run out at 81/3 in the 11th over triggered a devastating collapse. Wiaan Mulder departed one ball later for 12, and when Mohammad Mohsin was bowled for 1, TSK had slumped from 81/3 to 86/6 in the space of 14 deliveries.

Donovan Ferreira’s 21 off 17 offered some middle-order resistance, but it was Hardus Viljoen who salvaged the total. His unbeaten 33 off 24 – three sixes and a four – hauled TSK past 150 in a death-overs cameo that kept the Unicorns honest.

With the ball, Short was the standout, returning 2/25 from his four overs at an economy of 6.25. Peter Siddle took 3/36 but proved more expensive at 9.00, while Ghulam Mudassar was miserly with 1/11 from three overs at an economy of just 3.67.

Second Innings – San Francisco Unicorns 153/3 (17.5 overs)

The Unicorns lost Finn Allen early for 1, caught off Nandre Burger in the first over. But from 7/1, Pretorius and Short built a match-winning partnership worth 82 runs.

Short was the aggressor, smashing 31 off 19 balls with three fours and two sixes before falling LBW at 89/2. His strike rate of 163.16 set the platform and ensured the required rate never climbed above a run a ball.

Pretorius anchored the chase superbly. His unbeaten 69 off 55 balls – eight fours and a six – was measured and composed, rotating strike and finding boundaries when the field spread. Connor Esterhuizen chipped in with 20 off 18 before falling at 122/3, and Sanjay Krishnamurthi finished the job with a brisk unbeaten 19 off 12 including three fours.

TSK’s bowlers struggled for control. Viljoen conceded 33 from three overs, Amshi de Silva went at 10.50, and Ferreira’s four economical overs of 6.75 were not enough to stem the flow. The chase was wrapped up with 13 balls to spare.

Statz MVP – Matthew Short

The official Man of the Match went to Lhuan-dre Pretorius for his anchoring 69*, and you can see the logic. But Statz disagrees. Short’s all-round performance – 31 off 19 with the bat at a strike rate of 163 and 2/25 from four overs with the ball – generated a Statz mi_rating of 100.58, comfortably the highest of the match.

Pretorius scored more runs, yes. But Short’s bowling figures restricted TSK to a chaseable total and his batting in the powerplay set the tone for the chase. That dual impact is exactly what the Statz ratings are designed to capture.

Top 5 Statz Ratings

Turning Point

Rossouw’s run out at 81/3 in the 11th over. He was the anchor on 36 off 29 and looked set to push TSK towards 170+. Instead, his departure opened the floodgates. Mulder fell one ball later at 82/5, and within two overs TSK had collapsed from 81/3 to 86/6. That three-wicket cluster in the space of 14 balls turned a competitive total into a below-par one.

Match Context – MLC 2026 Standings

Both sides now sit on two points from two matches, but the Unicorns’ comfortable win lifts their net run rate to +0.429, placing them second in the MLC 2026 standings behind LA Knight Riders. TSK drop to fourth with an NRR of -0.171.

Early days in the tournament, but the Unicorns will take confidence from the way they dismantled this chase. TSK need Rossouw and du Plessis firing at the top – when both go cheaply, the middle order has looked fragile.