San Francisco Unicorns pulled off one of the most thrilling victories of the 2026 Major League Cricket season, edging Seattle Orcas by two wickets in a dramatic run chase at the Oakland Coliseum on Friday.

Chasing 192, the Unicorns crossed the finish line with two balls to spare thanks to a brilliant 87 off 39 balls from Lhuan-dre Pretorius and a nerveless unbeaten 26 from 14 deliveries by Brody Couch, who struck the winning boundary to spark jubilant celebrations among the home fans.
Brody Couch’s all-round heroics, including 3 for 41 and an unbeaten 26, powered San Francisco Unicorns to a memorable win. Photo by Shaun Roy / Sportzpics for MLC

Earlier, Seattle Orcas looked poised for a mammoth total after a breathtaking start. Tim Seifert blasted 32 off 14 balls, while Shayan Jahangir hammered 62 from just 25 deliveries, including six sixes. Matthew Breetzke added a fluent 51 off 29 as the Orcas surged to 149 for 2, appearing destined for a 240-plus total.

The Unicorns, however, engineered a remarkable turnaround. Couch led the fightback with 3 for 41, while Ghulam Mudassar (2/15) and Matthew Short (2/12) shared four wickets as Seattle lost their final eight wickets for just 42 runs to be bowled out for 191 in 19.2 overs.

San Francisco's chase suffered an early setback when Finn Allen fell for a golden duck before Matthew Short and Sanjay Krishnamurthi also departed cheaply, reducing the hosts to 26 for 3.

Pretorius steadied the innings with a superb counterattacking knock, sharing a crucial 99-run fourth-wicket partnership with Aaron Hardie (28). After Dasun Shanaka dismissed Hardie and Hammad Azam in quick succession, Pretorius continued to dominate before falling for 87 with 57 runs still required.


Hassan Khan chipped in with a brisk 16, while Xavier Bartlett added 13 to keep the chase alive before Couch took charge in the closing overs. The all-rounder smashed two sixes and a four in the final stages to guide the Unicorns home with a composed unbeaten cameo.

The victory was built on San Francisco's resilience, recovering from both a shaky start to the chase and a seemingly impossible position when Seattle threatened a massive total. For the Orcas, a dramatic collapse from 149 for 2 to 191 all out proved the decisive turning point.

Brief Scores: Seattle Orcas 191 all out in 19.2 overs (Shayan Jahangir 62, Matthew Breetzke 51; Brody Couch 3/41, Ghulam Mudassar 2/15, Matthew Short 2/12) lost to San Francisco Unicorns 192/8 in 19.4 overs (Lhuan-dre Pretorius 87, Brody Couch 26*; Marcus Stoinis 2/29, Dasun Shanaka 2/36, Cameron Gannon 2/30) by two wickets.