2026 Major League Cricket final

2026 Major League Cricket final
Event2026 Major League Cricket
Los Angeles Knight Riders Washington Freedom
164 163/9
19.4 overs 20 overs
Los Angeles Knight Riders won by 1 run
DateJuly 18, 2026
VenueOakland Coliseum, Oakland
Player of the matchSunil Narine (Los Angeles Knight Riders)
UmpiresGregory Brathwaite (WI) and Wayne Knights (NZ)
Attendance11,000[1]
← 2025
2027 →

The 2026 Major League Cricket final was a day/night 20-over cricket match that was played on July 18, 2026, at Oakland Coliseum in Oakland between the Los Angeles Knight Riders and the Washington Freedom to determine the winner of the fourth season of Major League Cricket.[2]

In the final, Los Angeles Knight Riders defeated Washington Freedom by 1 run to win their first Major League Cricket title, with Sunil Narine named both player of the match and player of the tournament for the 2026 season.[3][4]

Background

The complete schedule for the tournament's fourth season was unveiled on March 20, 2026.[5] The competition retained the format used during the 2025 season, consisting of a 30-match double round-robin stage followed by four playoff fixtures to total 34 matches.[6]

The tournament introduced a new venue, the Knight Riders Cricket Field situated at Fairplex in Pomona, California, which took the place of Broward County Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida.[7] The tournament concluded at the Oakland Coliseum, which hosted the championship final on July 18, 2026.[8]

Road to the final

All the top three teams San Francisco Unicorns, Los Angeles Knight Riders, Washington Freedom finished the league stage with 6 wins, 4 losses equal on 12 points.[9]

Los Angeles Knight Riders finished second due to inferior run rate than San Francisco Unicorns. In Qualifier, Los Angeles Knight Riders beat San Francisco Unicorns and progressed to the final.[10]

Washington Freedom had the worst run rate of the top three teams and finished third. In Eliminator, they beat MI New York and in the Challenger they beat San Francisco Unicorns and progressed to the final.[11][12]

Los Angeles Knight Riders Matches Washington Freedom
League Stage
Opponent Date Result Titles Opponent Date Result
San Francisco Unicorns June 19, 2026 Won Match 1 Seattle Orcas June 19, 2026 Lost
Seattle Orcas June 21, 2026 Won Match 2 MI New York June 20, 2026 Won
MI New York June 27, 2026 Lost Match 3 Seattle Orcas June 25, 2026 Lost
Seattle Orcas June 28, 2026 Lost Match 4 Texas Super Kings June 27, 2026 Won
Washington Freedom July 1, 2026 Lost Match 5 San Francisco Unicorns June 28, 2026 Lost
Texas Super Kings July 3, 2026 Won Match 6 Los Angeles Knight Riders July 1, 2026 Won
MI New York July 4, 2026 Lost Match 7 San Francisco Unicorns July 4, 2026 Won
Washington Freedom July 9, 2026 Won Match 8 Los Angeles Knight Riders July 9, 2026 Lost
San Francisco Unicorns July 10, 2026 Won Match 9 Texas Super Kings July 11, 2026 Won
Texas Super Kings July 12, 2026 Won Match 10 MI New York July 12, 2026 Won
Playoff stage
Qualifier Eliminator
Opponent Date Result Titles Opponent Date Result
San Francisco Unicorns July 15, 2026 Won Match 11 MI New York July 15, 2026 Won
Challenger
Titles Opponent Date Result
Match 12 San Francisco Unicorns July 16, 2026 Won
2026 Major Cricket League final

Match

Match officials

Scorecard

Final
July 18, 2026
16:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
v
Washington Freedom
163/9 (20 overs)
Andre Fletcher 47 (27)
Ben Dwarshuis 3/31 (4 overs)
Obus Pienaar 53 (24)
Sunil Narine 3/13 (4 overs)
Los Angeles Knight Riders won by 1 run
Oakland Coliseum, Oakland
Attendance: 11,000[1]
Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Wayne Knights (NZ)
Player of the match: Sunil Narine (Los Angeles Knight Riders)
  • Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to field.
  • Los Angeles Knight Riders won their maiden title after 4 years.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 "LA Knight Riders Crowned MLC 2026 Champions After Last-Ball Thriller". Major League Cricket. July 19, 2026. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Short's one-man show in vain as Freedom book final berth". Cricbuzz. July 19, 2026. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Narine, Holder lead LA Knight Riders to maiden MLC title". Cricbuzz. July 19, 2026. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
  4. ↑ Koushik, Narayanan (July 19, 2026). "LA Knight Riders steal 1-run win to be crowned MLC 2026 champions as Sunil Narine chokes WF". Inside Sport. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
  5. ↑ "MLC 2026 Schedule Announced: Full Fixtures, Dates, Venues and Match List". Yardbarker. March 20, 2026. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  6. ↑ "MLC 2026 Schedule Announced: Full Fixtures, Dates, Venues and Match List". Yardbarker. March 20, 2026. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  7. ↑ Lockard, Melissa (March 20, 2026). "Oakland Coliseum to host Major League Cricket playoffs, title match in July". The Mercury News. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  8. ↑ Vishwanathan, Aayushman (March 20, 2026). "MLC 2026 Schedule Announced: Texas Super Kings vs Seattle Orcas Opener". The Sunday Guardian. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  9. ↑ "LAKR swat aside TSK to seal top-two finish". Cricbuzz. July 13, 2026. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Short's 94* in vain as Powell's 15-ball blitz takes LAKR into final". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Smith and Gous outdo Pooran as Freedom pull off world-record chase". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Short's 121* not enough as Washington Freedom make third straight MLC final". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
  13. ↑ "LA Knight Riders clinch maiden title with thrilling one-run win over Washington Freedom". The Times of India. July 19, 2026. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.