NEW DELHI: Washington Freedom climbed to the top of the Major League Cricket 2024 standings with a comfortable five-wicket victory over the Seattle Orcas at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Friday.

With two wins and a no-result in three games, Washington now boast five points, two ahead of the second-placed Texas Super Kings, who have three points from as many games. Seattle, having suffered their second loss of the season, remain at the bottom of the table.

As it happened: Washington Freedom vs Seattle Orcas

Opting to field first, Washington’s bowlers, led by pacers Lockie Ferguson and Saurabh Netravalkar, bundled out Seattle for a modest 124 in 19.4 overs. Washington then chased down the target in 18.2 overs with five wickets to spare, overcoming initial setbacks.

Washington were struggling at 64/5 in 9.1 overs after losing three wickets inside the powerplay. However, wicketkeeper-batter Lahiru Milantha (33 not out off 30 balls) and Obus Pienaar (31 not out off 30 balls) stitched together an unbeaten 63-run partnership for the sixth wicket, ensuring victory for their team.

“Our top-order didn’t get off to the flier and take it deep. The run-rate was never out of reach and it is all about taking it deep and I think Pienaar and Milantha played some really smart cricket there,” Washington skipper Steve Smith commented after the match.

Seattle captain Heinrich Klaasen reflected on the loss, saying, “I think we lost the game in the backend with the bat. I think we bowled quite well upfront, but we didn’t have enough on the board. We are lacking that one guy that keeps on going at the backend, and that is something that will give the bowlers that extra cushion. Proud of the bowlers, they did what they needed to do and like I said not enough runs on the board and we need to get that right.”

Lockie Ferguson was the standout performer for Washington, returning impressive figures of 4 for 26 in his four overs, supported by Netravalkar’s 3 for 18 in 3.4 overs. For his outstanding performance, Ferguson was awarded ‘Player of the Match’.

“Good start to the campaign, the bowling unit is going well and everyone is pitching in. There was a little bit in it for the bowlers, it’s about finding your lengths and I think the boys have done that well,” Ferguson said.

With this win, Washington Freedom have set a strong precedent for the rest of the season, while Seattle Orcas will look to regroup and address their batting concerns in upcoming matches.