MLC: Shubham Ranjane, Donovan Ferreira shine as Texas Super Kings beat LA Knight Riders by 52 runs

Dallas [US] June 25 (ANI): A fast and steady knock from Shubham Ranjane, helped by a quick cameo from his U.S teammate Donovan Ferreira propelled the Texas Super Kings to a respectable 196/8 off 20 overs making sure their bowlers had enough to defend as they restricted the LA Knight Riders to 144/7 securing their first win in front of their home crowd at Dallas' Grand Prairie Stadium in the ongoing Major League Cricket (MLC), according to a release from MLC.
During the power play, the Knight Riders struck early as an on-target Shadley van Schalkwyk claimed three wickets in his opening spell.
Having lost three of his partners rather quickly, Smit Patel set off to rebuild the innings with a sublime Shubham Ranjane at the other end.
The pair succeeded in taking the Super Kings out of the sinkhole by adding 66 off 46 deliveries for the fourth wicket before Andre Russell accounted for Smit Patel when the latter tried to scoop him down the fine leg boundary.
It was a relief for the Super Kings when Ranjane was assisted timely by a swashbuckling Donovan Ferreira, who wasted no time and started his onslaught, dispatching Ali Khan for back-to-back boundaries in the 14th over.
Ferreira's dominance extended further when he targeted Andre Russell's third over, disrupting an otherwise good spell for the tall Jamaican all-rounder.
Ferreira and Ranjane's late flurry meant the Super Kings added 72 off the last 5 overs to end their innings on a respectable 196/8.
In response, The Texan's bowling line-up carried on with the momentum as they made life tough for the Knight Riders' top-order in pursuit of a challenging target.
The Super Kings' decision to bring in Akeal Hosein for this game paid great dividends as the left-arm Caribbean spinner made an immediate impact, sending an out-of-form Alex Hales and Nitish Kumar back to the hut off successive deliveries in his first over during the power play.
The wickets dented Los Angeles's morale in the chase as they struggled to keep up with the mounting required run-rate.
The mounting pressure was too much to handle for the LA Knight Rider batters, ultimately invoking a frequent loss of wickets as the Texas Super King bowlers kept things tight, yielding them success in quick intervals.
Noor Ahmad, Texas Super Kings' best bowler this season so far, regained his form after a rather subpar couple of games compared to his normal standards, grabbing 27/2 off his 4 overs, including a beauty to dismiss Andre Russell.
A disciplined bowling effort, carrying on positive momentum from a match-turning partnership, ultimately resulted in the Texas Super Kings securing their first win this season at the Grand Prairie stadium.
The men in yellow will seek to continue the winning momentum into their next game after a four-day gap when they face MI New York on June 29th.
On the other hand, with only a single win so far in the season, the LA Knight Riders face an uphill task when they face a formidable Washington Freedom on 26th June.
Match Summary: Texas Super Kings Win by 52 runs
TSK: 196/8 in 20 overs (Shubham Ranjane 70, Donovan Ferreira 43, Smit Patel 38, Andre Russell 37/3)
LAKR: 144/7 in 20 overs (Unmukt Chand 30, Jason Holder 26, Akeal Hosein 10/2, Noor Ahmad 27/2). (ANI)