San Francisco Unicorns Cruise Past Texas Super Kings as Pretorius and Siddle Shine in MLC 2026

Hoping to get off the mark in the 2026 Major League Cricket (MLC) season, San Francisco Unicorns wrapped up a comprehensive seven-wicket win against Texas Super Kings at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas. Veteran pacer Peter Siddle was among the wickets in a disciplined bowling display, before South African batter Lhuan-dre Pretorius (78*) guided the Unicorns men home to their comfortable chase of 153 with 13 balls remaining.

Having won the toss and chosen to field, the Unicorns maintained relentless pressure on the Texas batsmen. Bowling woes were compounded for the home side as Peter Siddle returned superb figures: 3/36 while Matthew Short also bowled tight spells (with a key wicket). Ghulam Mudassar, too, shone with the new ball, curtailing Super Kings’ attempts to build momentum during the powerplay overs.

Texas Super Kings managed to score 152 for 9 in the allotted 20 overs. Rilee Rossouw scored 36 runs in the innings but the middle order could not make most of a breezy start. The lower order, led by Donovan Ferreira did try and get past 150 but with Viljoen remaining not out on 33 they settled for a fighting total in another innings of wickets falling regularly against the Super Kings.

The response from the Unicorns was a cool and calculated chase. After a rapid 31-run start from opener Matthew Short, Lhuan-dre Pretorius was excellent in anchoring the innings. The left-handed, was ruthless towards the end of the innings, hitting out at just the right time to steer his team home on a convincing 69 off just 55 deliveries. His alliance in the middle order ensured that there weren’t any last-minute mishaps as even after sustaining two overs of batting time left, San Francisco ended up with a total of 153 for 3.

The win was a crucial bounce back for the Unicorns who had lost their opener, while the Texas Super Kings were on their first note of pain after winning theirs. Pretorius and Siddle complemented each other with the 34-year-old experience defining a typical South African performance.

With the tournament’s momentum swinging towards them, San Francisco Unicorns would like to seize this confidence for their next games whereas Texas Super Kings will want to get back onto tracks quickly and get back into form that initially looked promising as one of the early contenders in MLC 2026.