Zia-ul-Haq and Nandre Burger stars as TSK roar to third straight win

Led by Zia-ul-Haq and Nandre Burger's burst in the powerplay, Seattle Orcas were bundled out for 60 - in less than 14 overs - in the chase of 154, handing Texas Super Kings their third successive win of MLC 2025, on Monday (June 17). By the end of the fifth over, the duo had broken through the Orcas' top order and left them at 21 for 5. Both the bowlers got the ball to nip around a fair bit and leave the batters struggling, often beating them and at times finding edges. However, Orcas' misery persisted even after spin was added. Two overs after Noor Ahmad joined the team, he caught Harmeet Singh and Sujit Nayak leg before, reducing them to 27 for 7. The only Orcas batters with double-digit scores were Aaron Jones and Jasdeep Singh, who combined for an 18-run stand, helped in part by Daryl Mitchell's short pitch, which was easily pulled away for a six. Jones even pulled Noor for a six in the next over, over long off, but his enterprising stay was cut short by Stonis. Attempting to pull another short delivery, Jones top-edged it to short third. In the eleventh over, Noor had Obed McCoy caught legbefore, but the last wicket pair extended the middle-order stay without attempting to reach the target. Jasdeep Singh and Waqar Salamkheil exchanged 17 deliveries but only scored seven runs before Jasdeep Singh was defeated by Burger. The Super Kings also had trouble using the bat earlier in the day. After a difficult middle period, Faf du Plessis and Devon Conway left in the powerplay on a slow surface where some shots bounced and others stayed low. Mitchell and Saiteja Mukkamalla took charge of the innings, which they played for 48 runs in six overs. While Mitchell found it difficult to get the big hits going, Mukkamalla smashed a couple of sixes off Sikandar Raza and Salamkheil. However, the assault of Marcus Stonis was the one that really gave the innings some momentum. In his 12-ball stay, the Australian hard-hitter hit four sixes. With two sixes and a boundary in the final over from Milind Kumar and Shubham Ranjane, Super Kings reached a respectable total on a difficult surface.