Matthew Short’s unbeaten 121 goes in vain as Washington Freedom edge past San Francisco Unicorns to book MLC final spot

San Francisco Unicorns captain Matt Short drives a delivery down the field during the game between The San Francisco Unicorns and the Washington Freedom at the Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California, United States of America (USA). (photo/sportzpics) The Washington Freedom held their nerve in the last few overs to defeat the San Francisco Unicorns by seven runs in Major League Cricket (MLC) Eliminator 2 on Friday, setting up the final against the LA Knight Riders (IST) on Sunday.Defending 238, the Freedom looked under pressure as San Francisco skipper Matthew Short produced an unbeaten 121 off 56 balls, but Saurabh Netravalkar and Mitchell Owen closed out the game with disciplined final overs to deny the Unicorns a place in the title race.Freedom elected to bat first and made the most of a strong start from their top order.Mitchell Owen made 42 off 19 balls while skipper Steven Smith added 43 off 20 as the opening pair sent the side to 83/1 in the Powerplay. Andries Gous then anchored the innings with 73 off 40 deliveries, hitting eight fours and three sixes.Rachin Ravindra chipped in with 28 off just 14 balls as Freedom finished with 238/6 from their 20 overs.Xavier Bartlett was the pick of the bowlers for the Unicorns, taking 3 for 38 in his four overs.The chase in San Francisco got off to a bad start as both leads fell early. Lhuan-dre Pretorius made 18 off 10 balls before departing, while Finn Allen managed 14 off nine.That left Short to carry the innings almost single-handedly. The skipper hit 11 fours and eight sixes during his unbeaten 121, keeping the required pace within reach despite wickets falling regularly at the other end.Bartlett also contributed with the bat as he made 28 off 13 balls and with two overs remaining the Unicorns still needed just 29 runs with Short well set.However, Freedom turned the match around in the closing stages.Netravalkar bowled a crucial 19th over, conceding just seven runs and leaving San Francisco needing 22 from the final over.Owen, who conceded 28 runs in his first over earlier in the innings, came back when it mattered most. He gave away just 14 runs in the last over to seal a seven-run victory and send Freedom to the finals.It was another painful exit for the Unicorns, who also lost by a narrow margin in the qualifiers despite finishing top of the league table. Their second chance to reach the finals vanished as Freedom completed a successful defense of their unit to book a meeting with the LA Knight Riders in the championship game.