Netravalkar and Maxwell set up Freedom's orca demolition

Shimron Hetmyer had led the Seattle Orcas to three consecutive victories, but he was unable to repeat the feat against the Washington Freedom. Before Hetmyer took over, the Orcas hitting lineup had faltered and fallen to five straight losses. Now, they were once again inept, as Hetmyer had a bad day, scoring a meager 82. Freedom completed the chase in just 9.2 overs, moving back up to the second position in the MLC 2025 points table.

Shayan Jahangir got out when Freedom won the toss, bowled, and Saurabh Netravalkar hit the first ball. Glenn Maxwell had Aaron Jones’ number in the next over. In the third over, Netravalkar removed Sikandar Raza. Steven Taylor was sent back by Maxwell on the first ball of the fourth. After six overs, Maxwell ended the powerplay by dismissing Kyle Mayers, leaving Orcas at 21 for 5.

Netravalkar returned to bowl the 16th and took the wicket of Jasdeep Singh, the ninth of the innings, returning 3–13. Maxwell, who bowled the tenth to conclude, finished with statistics of 3 for 12 from four. Jack Edwards, who finished with 3 for 19, was Freedom’s other key wicket-taker. He took out Heinrich Klaasen, the only Orcas hitter to fight until he was the last man out, for 48 off 39 balls.

Even though Raza got rid of Mitchell Owen in the third over, the chase was simple. Freedom was down to 37 runs from 14 overs at the end of the powerplay after being reduced to 50 for 1 by Rachin Ravindra and Mukhtar Ahmed. After Mukhtar remained perfect with a 21-ball 36 and Ravindra scored 32 from 23 before being the next batter out, they only needed 3.2 more.

The Orcas’ three-game winning streak has put them in the running for the playoffs despite the significant loss. Even after nine games, they are still ranked fourth, unlike fifth-place MI New York, who are one win behind them but still have a game left.