Zia-ul-Haq to Smith, no run, back of a length across off,

Zia-ul-Haq to Head, leg byes, 1 run, back of a length delivery down leg, strikes Head on the thigh pad as he looks to clip it away

Zia-ul-Haq to Head, FOUR, to sweeper cover

Zia-ul-Haq to Head, FOUR, straight down the ground

Zia-ul-Haq to Head, 2 runs, just out of the reach of the bowler! Pitched up on off and middle,

Head and Smith are at the crease. Head is on strike. Zia-ul-Haq will open the attack

The anthem is done and now the TSK players are signing autographs for some kids on the outfield. We're almost ready to go.

Faf: We're going to chase. General trend I think. Seems like a bit of moisture on it. Hopefully it'll get better as the game goes on. Nice for everyone to get a break. Luckily from a full squad perspective, everyone's fit. Good to have a break in between. We just feel at this specific venue, it's difficult to stop the guys if they chase well. Noor comes in.

Smith: We were looking to bat first actually. Will wait and see how the pitch is playing. Aponso comes in for Holland.

Teams:

Texas Super Kings (Playing XI): Devon Conway(w), Faf du Plessis(c), Aaron Hardie, Marcus Stoinis, Joshua Tromp, Milind Kumar, Calvin Savage, Dwayne Bravo, Mohammad Mohsin, Noor Ahmad, Zia-ul-Haq

Faf: We're going to chase. General trend I think. Seems like a bit of moisture on it. Hopefully it'll get better as the game goes on. Nice for everyone to get a break. Luckily from a full squad perspective, everyone's fit. Good to have a break in between. We just feel at this specific venue, it's difficult to stop the guys if they chase well. Noor comes in.

Washington Freedom (Playing XI): Travis Head, Steven Smith(c), Andries Gous(w), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Maxwell, Obus Pienaar, Mukhtar Ahmed, Marco Jansen, Amila Aponso, Lockie Ferguson, Jasdeep Singh

Pitch report | Daren Ganga and Sunil Gavaskar: It's the same pitch used in the three previous matches. There's just a hint of grass. As the game progresses, there's more turn for spinners.

Texas Super Kings have won the toss and have opted to field

Hello and welcome to our coverage of Match 17 between Washington Freedom and Texas Super Kings. Washington Freedom are sitting pretty at the top of the table and are yet to be beaten in this tournament. They've qualified for the playoffs and will seal a top-two finish with a win today. Super Kings, on the other hand, are also not far from qualification for the playoffs.

Preview

Texas Super Kings are a point away from sealing a berth in the playoffs of MLC 2024 and they'll be keen to win their remaining two matches which will keep them in the reckoning for a spot in the top two. But they have a stiff challenge in front of them as their opponents in the next match are Washington Freedom, who are yet to lose a game in this edition and are sitting pretty at the top of the table with nine points from four matches - the only game not to get them two points was the rain-hit encounter against the Super Kings.

The Super Kings began with a loss to Los Angeles Knight Riders, which was followed by the match against Freedom in which they posted 203 before they saw the opposition race away to 62/0 in 4 overs. But rain ensured that the game did not yield a result. Since then, the Super Kings have gone on to defeat San Francisco Unicorns and MI New York, with one washout sandwiched in between.

The form of Devon Conway and Faf du Plessis up the order is a positive for the Super Kings as their openers have been delivering consistently. With Aaron Hardie and Marcus Stoinis coming up with handy knocks in the previous game, the Super Kings appear to have got their combination right. They also have got a solid bowling attack with Naveen-ul-Haq, Dwayne Bravo, Mohammad Mohsin and Stoinis, with the Australian fresh off a four-wicket haul against MI New York.

The in-form Travis Head powers the batting at the top of the order for Freedom and is entering this game on the back of two half-centuries. Skipper Steve Smith has been a solid opening partner for Head, and with the likes of Andries Gous, Glenn Maxwell and Rachin Ravindra to follow, Freedom have a power-packed batting order.

In the bowling department Lockie Ferguson and USA's T20 World Cup hero Saurabh Netravalkar have been spearheading Freedom's pace attack, with Marco Jansen also doing a good job so far with the ball. When Netravalkar pulled out of the previous game due to personal reasons, Jasdeep Singh ensured his absence wasn't felt as he picked up a three-wicket haul and bagged the player of the match award, setting up Freedom's 94-run win against MI New York, which helped them become the first team to qualify for the playoffs. Freedom have played with a lot of authority this season and they'll be looking to extend their dominance with a win against the Super Kings, which will ensure a top two finish for the Smith-led side.

When: Friday, July 19 at 7:30 PM Local Time (July 20, 6:00 AM IST)

Where: Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas

What to expect: The pitches in Dallas have been good for the batters so far in the competition but 148 proved to be a winning total for San Francisco Unicorns against MI New York in the last game here. Weather-wise, it's expected to be warm, with no forecast of rain.

Team news:

Texas Super Kings: Faf du Plessis's side are likely to go unchanged for this game.

Probable XI: Devon Conway (wk), Faf du Plessis (c), Aaron Hardie, Marcus Stoinis, Joshua Tromp, Milind Kumar, Calvin Savage, Dwayne Bravo, Mohammad Mohsin, Naveen-ul-Haq, Zia-ul-Haq

Washington Freedom: Netravalkar opted out of the previous game to attend the birth of his child. Freedom could be unchanged if he takes an extended break.

Probable XI: Travis Head, Steven Smith (c), Rachin Ravindra, Andries Gous (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Obus Pienaar, Mukhtar Ahmed, Marco Jansen, Ian Holland, Lockie Ferguson, Jasdeep Singh

Squads:

Washington Freedom Squad: Travis Head, Steven Smith(c), Andries Gous(w), Glenn Maxwell, Rachin Ravindra, Obus Pienaar, Mukhtar Ahmed, Marco Jansen, Ian Holland, Lockie Ferguson, Jasdeep Singh, Amila Aponso, Akeal Hosein, Justin Dill, Andrew Tye, Saurabh Netravalkar, Lahiru Milantha, Jack Edwards, Yasir Mohammad, Bodugum Akhilesh Reddy

Texas Super Kings Squad: Devon Conway(w), Faf du Plessis(c), Aaron Hardie, Marcus Stoinis, Joshua Tromp, Milind Kumar, Calvin Savage, Dwayne Bravo, Mohammad Mohsin, Naveen-ul-Haq, Zia-ul-Haq, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Santner, Daryl Mitchell, Cameron Stevenson, Ottneil Baartman, Noor Ahmad, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Zia Shahzad, Raj Nannan