On July 22, 2023, former India U-19 seamer Saurabh Netravalkar scripted history by taking a sensational six-fer against San Francisco. His figures of 6/9 became the best figures for any bowler in the ongoing Major League Cricket (MLC) tournament. His spell was so immaculate that he only conceded one extra in the form of wide and no boundaries were scored of his bowling.
After registering a fiery spell in the crucial encounter against San Francisco Unicorns, his side Washington Freedom has confirmed their place in the playoffs of the inaugural MLC edition. As of July 23, 2023, Saurabh Netravalkar is the second-highest wicket-taker of the tournament. The 31-year-old has claimed 8 wickets so far in this tournament at a stunning average of 11.13. Besides, he also holds a very impressive economy rate of only 6 RPO.
During their clash with San Francisco, Washington Freedom did not make an ideal start with the bat and were eventually restricted to a below-par score of 133. However, the pitch certainly had something for the bowlers and Netravalkar made full use of the favorable bowling conditions. He was straightaway into business as he got the ball in hand. After a tidy first over, the left-arm seamer switched angles to go around the wicket and had Marcus Stonis playing down the wrong line to knock over his middle stump. During the fourth over of the second innings when he dismissed the dangerous Matthew Wade for 8 (10). Following his dismissal, an unprecedented batting collapse from the San Francisco batting unit ensued. Shadab Khan was dismissed in near similar circumstances to a slightly fuller length delivery.
Like in the first innings, there was a brief resistance from the batting in the post-PowerPlay overs but Corey Anderson and Aaron Finch batted very sedately to add just 30 from the next six overs. The pressure had its toll and Finch was eventually dismissed stumped to Akeal Hosein having crawled to a 28-ball 14. Anderson held firm for a little longer but departed immediately after hitting a six and a four for a run-a-ball 34.
The Unicorns needed 33 off the final over when Netravalkar returned to dismiss Bishnoi, Rauf, and Liam Plunkett to round off an outstanding bowling performance.
Brief scores: Washington Freedom 133/8 in 20 overs (Moises Henriques 30; Haris Rauf 3-20) beat San Francisco Unicorns 103 in 19.5 overs (Corey Anderson 34; Saurabh Netravalkar 6-9) by 30 runs.