De Silva Four-for Drives Texas Super Kings to Crucial Win at Oakland

Texas Super Kings won by 22 runs against San Francisco Unicorns in the 8th match of 34 in the Major League Cricket 2026 season at Oakland Coliseum. Amshi de Silva tore through San Francisco’s middle order with 4/28, backing up a gutsy batting rescue from Donovan Ferreira (45 off 28) as Texas levelled their season record at 2-2 and climbed to second in the standings.

First Innings – Texas Super Kings 161/8 (20 overs)

San Francisco won the toss and opted to bowl, and the decision looked justified when Texas’s promising start turned into a mid-innings collapse. Faf du Plessis and Saiteja Mukkamalla put on 72 for the opening stand, du Plessis striking at 167 with three sixes and two fours in his 40 off 24 before falling caught in the 8th over.

What followed was a dramatic slide. Rilee Rossouw lasted just two balls for a duck (77/2, over 8.3), Milind Kumar was run out for 8 at 87/3 (over 10.2), Mukkamalla fell at 92/4 (over 11.4), and Shubham Ranjane was bowled for 6 at 96/5 (over 12.3). Five wickets had tumbled for just 24 runs.

Donovan Ferreira rescued the innings with a superb 45 off 28 balls, smashing four sixes and two fours at a strike rate of 161. He dragged Texas from 96/5 to 151/8, adding 40 with Wiaan Mulder (4 off 10) for the sixth wicket. De Silva’s unbeaten 9 off 2 – including a six off the final ball – pushed the total to a competitive 161.

Haris Rauf was the pick of San Francisco’s attack with 0/16 from four overs (economy 4.0). Ghulam Mudassar took 2/30 and Brody Couch claimed 2/42, though at 10.5 economy.

Second Innings – San Francisco Unicorns 139 all out (17.4 overs)

San Francisco’s chase never gained any momentum. Finn Allen was bowled for 3 at 11/1 in the 3rd over, and while Lhuan-dre Pretorius (17 off 15) tried to rebuild, his dismissal at 33/2 (over 4.1) triggered a rapid collapse. Connor Esterhuizen was bowled just three balls later at 37/3 (over 4.4), and suddenly the Unicorns were in deep trouble in the powerplay.

Matthew Short fought back brilliantly with 28 off 16 balls (SR 175), including two sixes and a four, but his wicket at 63/5 (over 7.6) ended the last meaningful resistance. Hassan Khan (14 off 8, two sixes) and Hammad Azam (20 off 14) landed a few blows, but regular wickets from de Silva and company ensured the chase never recovered.

De Silva was devastating with 4/28 from his four overs at an economy of 7.0. Abhimanyu Lamba was excellent at the other end with 2/22 (economy 5.5), and Adam Milne chipped in with 2/29 from 3.4 overs. San Francisco were bowled out for 139 in 17.4 overs, 22 runs short.

Statz MVP – Amshi de Silva (119.91)

De Silva’s match-winning 4/28 combined with a quickfire 9 not out off 2 balls (including a six) earned him a Statz Match Impact rating of 119.91. The formula calculates impact based on match context, weighting his four wickets during the chase heavily given the pressure situations in which they fell. Statz agrees with the official Player of the Match award.

Top 5 Statz Ratings

1. Amshi de Silva (TSK) – 119.91 – Unplayable with the ball (4/28) and a cameo six with the bat to finish the innings.
2. Matthew Short (SFU) – 71.3 – Counter-attacking 28 off 16 (SR 175) with the bat, plus 1/19 from two overs with the ball.
3. Brody Couch (SFU) – 70.34 – Aggressive 22 off 16 at number nine in the chase, and took 2/42 in the first innings.
4. Donovan Ferreira (TSK) – 65.65 – Rescued the innings from 96/5 with 45 off 28 (SR 161, four sixes).
5. Abhimanyu Lamba (TSK) – 64.89 – Tidy 2/22 from four overs (economy 5.5) to support de Silva in dismantling the chase.

Turning Point

Matthew Short was bowled at 63/5 in over 7.6. The Unicorns’ last recognised batter with any tempo, Short had been counter-attacking at a strike rate of 175 after early wickets fell around him. His departure left San Francisco needing 99 from 74 balls with no set batters remaining, and the lower order could never sustain the required rate of nearly 8 an over.

Match Context

This was the 8th match of 34 in the MLC 2026 regular season. Texas Super Kings move to 2nd in the standings (P4 W2 L2, 4 pts, NRR -0.132), behind the unbeaten Los Angeles Knight Riders (P2 W2 L0, 4 pts, NRR +2.602). San Francisco Unicorns drop to 5th (P3 W1 L2, 2 pts, NRR -0.175), level on points with Washington Freedom, MI New York, and Seattle Orcas but behind on net run rate. After dominating the head-to-head historically (4-3 in SFU’s favour), Texas claimed a crucial revenge win having lost the reverse fixture just five days earlier.

Full scorecard and Statz ratings on statz.ai