Carmi le Roux to Head, no run

Head and Smith are at the crease. Head is on strike. Carmi le Roux will open the attack

It's time for the USA national anthem - a sellout crowd of more than 6000 for tonight's final and we hope for a good game of cricket.

Teams:

Washington Freedom (Playing XI): Travis Head, Steven Smith(c), Andries Gous(w), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Maxwell, Mukhtar Ahmed, Obus Pienaar, Marco Jansen, Ian Holland, Andrew Tye, Saurabh Netravalkar

San Francisco Unicorns (Playing XI): Finn Allen, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Josh Inglis(w), Sherfane Rutherford, Hassan Khan, Corey Anderson(c), Pat Cummins, Haris Rauf, Carmi le Roux, Juanoy Drysdale

Steven Smith - Lockie is no good for this game, so AJ Tye comes in, he's an experienced guy and that's the only change. We'll look to be nice and positive, stick to the same process that brought us here. We don't want to get overawed by the occasion and try to get the best result. 

Corey Anderson - We will bowl first. From what we have seen, chasing seems to be slightly easier, especially if dew comes around. But it's a good batting wicket and we'll look to throw some punches. They've got some unbelievable players, Trav has been the player of the tournament, but we have prepared well, the boys have been fantastic and hopefully we'll have a great night. Same team..

San Francisco Unicorns have won the toss and have opted to field

It's a fantastic day with the wind blowing towards the shorter boundary. The pitch has been double-rolled, looks pretty wonderful and you would want to chase first, reckons Pommie Mbangwa, in his pitch report.

Pitch and Conditions - The Dallas leg of the tournament has been super competitive with a perfect balance between bat and ball. While one short boundary has been tempting, it's offset by the bounce which brings the bowlers into the game. Anything around 175-185 has proved match-winning in most of the games and tonight should be no exception.

18:40 Local Time, 23:40 GMT, 05:10 IST: After 21 league matches and 3 playoffs, we're into the final of the second season of Major League Cricket. It features the best two teams of the tournament - Washington Freedom cruised through to the final after a thumping victory in the Qualifier. On the other hand, the loss in the qualifier meant that the Unicorns of San Francisco had to take the longer route and they earned the right to face-off their rivals for the 3rd time this season. It's 1-1 as far as the head-to-head record goes this season. Freedom have been the team to beat and they've been all but flawless. Today's game could be decided on small margins - Fraser-McGurk and Finn Allen have a devastating opening partnership, but Freedom boast of a varied bowling line-up. It could be this match-up which could be a telling factor in deciding the result of today's game. 

Preview

Table-toppers Washington Freedom have looked unstoppable throughout the competition this year. A lone defeat, after they had already sealed a top two finish, has been the only anomaly in an otherwise perfect campaign so far. A trophy, they would feel, would be a fair assessment of their current season. Steven Smith has led from all fronts, well supported by Travis Head, Rachin Ravindra, Lockie Ferguson and Glenn Maxwell. The domestic talent too has shone through for Freedom with Andries Gous and Saurabh Netravalkar, the latter sitting on top of the leading wicket taker charts. With form coming into the game, the Freedom start as clear favourites if all their parts click into gear. They would also hold the psychological advantage over their opponents having beaten them merely two days ago.

The San Francisco Unicorns have gone from wooden spooners in 2023 to having a chance of lifting the cup in 2024. They had to go take the hard route to reach the final by beating Texas Super Kings in the Challenger. They will need to be weary of losing wickets in clumps as they did in the Qualifier and would need to improve their fielding, shelling five catches in their last outing. They would lean on Finn Allen and Jake Fraser-McGurk to provide a quick start while the youngsters in Sanjay Krishnmaurthi and ever-impressive Hassan Khan would look to end their campaign on a high note.

The bowling for the Unicorns has been relatively consistent. Although hampered by injuries during the season, they have managed to pull the scoring rate back during games in the middle overs, regularly picking up wickets and choking the scoring rate. Pat Cummins, Haris Rauf, Hassan Khan and Juanoy Drysdale have all managed to produce match winning spells for the Unicorns during the tournament.

When: Sunday, July 28 at 7:30 PM Local Time (July 29, 6:00 AM IST)

Where: Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas, Texas

What to Expect: The last three games played here have all seemed to be on good batting surfaces although the scores may not highlight the same. Wickets would be the best way to break the back of the batting side as Freedom managed to do so aganst Unicorns in the Qualifier. Freedom would look to do the same, chase on the track but with Unicorns breaching the 200-run mark against TSK, they might not mind that outcome either.

Team News:

Washington Freedom: Lockie Ferguson pulled his hamstring in the Qualifier and seems very doubtful to feature. Andrew Tye would be a like-for-like replacement for him.

Probable XI: Travis Head, Steven Smith (c), Andries Gous (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Maxwell, Obus Pienaar, Mukhtar Ahmed, Marco Jansen, Ian Holland, Andrew Tye, Saurabh Netravalkar.

San Francisco Unicorns: The Unicorns would like to take the field with the same side having beaten the Texas Super Kings yesterday.

Probable XI: Finn Allen, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Josh Inglis(wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Corey Anderson(c), Hassan Khan, Pat Cummins, Carmi le Roux, Haris Rauf, Juanoy Drysdale.

Squads:

San Francisco Unicorns Squad: Finn Allen, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Josh Inglis(w), Sherfane Rutherford, Hassan Khan, Corey Anderson(c), Pat Cummins, Haris Rauf, Carmi le Roux, Juanoy Drysdale, Matt Henry, Jahmar Hamilton, Matthew Short, Wiaan Mulder, Tajinder Dhillon, Abrar Ahmed, Karima Gore, Brody Couch

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