Oakland, CA (June 28, 2026): Seattle Orcas ended the Oakland leg of Major League Cricket on a high with a 20-run victory over the Los Angeles Knight Riders, powered by a blistering unbeaten half-century from Dasun Shanaka and a disciplined bowling performance.

After choosing to bat, Seattle found themselves in early trouble on a pitch that offered assistance to the spinners. Fabian Allen dismissed Shayan Jahangir for 5 in the opening over before Sunil Narine and Jason Holder struck to leave the Orcas reeling at 32/3 at the end of the powerplay. Tim Seifert, Matthew Breetzke and Shimron Hetmyer all departed cheaply, while Marcus Stoinis managed only 10 from 19 balls before falling to Shadley van Schalkwyk. At 66/5 after 13 overs, Seattle were staring at a below-par total.
Dasun Shanaka rescued the Seattle Orcas from a top-order collapse with a brilliant unbeaten 58, smashing five fours and five sixes to propel his side to a competitive total. Photo by Shaun Roy / Sportzpics for MLC

Shanaka then produced a remarkable counterattack to rescue the innings. The Sri Lankan all-rounder blasted an unbeaten 58 from just 23 deliveries, smashing five fours and five sixes at a strike rate above 250. He shifted the momentum with a flurry of boundaries in the closing overs and reached his fifty in only 21 balls. Harmeet Singh added a useful 19 as the Orcas recovered to post a competitive 154/7. Narine, appearing in his landmark 600th T20 match, returned impressive figures of 2/17, while Allen claimed 2/18.

The Knight Riders made a confident start to their chase, with Andre Fletcher striking an entertaining 23 off 13 balls before Jasdeep Singh claimed the breakthrough. Unmukt Chand was dismissed for a duck, and Harmeet Singh removed Saif Badar soon after to reduce LAKR to 53/3.

Colin Munro attempted to anchor the innings with 33 from 36 balls, but his dismissal triggered another collapse. Marcus Stoinis swung the match firmly in Seattle's favor by dismissing both Sunil Narine and Jason Holder in the same over, leaving the Knight Riders struggling at 92/6. Holder scored 21 but was unable to revive the chase.

Matthew Tromp provided late entertainment with two sixes, but the target proved beyond reach as Los Angeles finished on 134/8. Stoinis starred with figures of 3/28, while Harmeet Singh took 2/20, Jasdeep Singh claimed 1/24, and Ali Sheikh bowled an economical spell of 1/5 from two overs.


The victory highlighted Seattle's resilience after their top-order collapse, with Shanaka's explosive innings laying the foundation before the bowlers completed a comprehensive team performance. The defeat handed the Knight Riders a second straight loss and exposed continued concerns over their batting, despite reaching a promising 42 without loss early in the chase.

Brief Scores: Seattle Orcas 154/7 in 20 overs (Dasun Shanaka 58*; Ali Sheikh 38; Sunil Narine 2/17, Fabian Allen 2/18) beat Los Angeles Knight Riders 134/8 in 20 overs (Colin Munro 33, Andre Fletcher 23; Marcus Stoinis 3/28, Harmeet Singh 2/20, Jasdeep Singh 1/24) by 20 runs.