Kieron Pollard, Anderson powers MINY to top of the table

After increasing their head-to-head advantage over the LA Knight Riders to 6-0, MI New York moved to the top of the MLC 2026 standings. The experienced heads of Kieron Pollard (63* off 35) and Corey Anderson (37* off 24) had to work together to help the holders get over the line in a chase of 165 with a ball to spare in this tense game, which was LAKR's last game of the season at their home venue, Pomona.

LAKR's fourth defeat in five games was caused by another poor batting performance after being asked to bat first. Before the hosts plodded away to a 37-run Powerplay against some disciplined MINY bowling, Unmukt Chand once more fell cheaply to Corbin Bosch. After hitting three sixes in a five-ball stretch due to fielding restrictions, Andre Fletcher appeared to help LAKR out of the rut. However, he edged Rushil Ugarkar to the 'keeper, resulting in a 26-ball 34.

Matthew Tromp abandoned the ship after another period of consolidation. The batters at the opposing end had to score quickly, but they were unable to do so for an extended period of time. Rovman Powell was bowled out by Ugarkar in the 14th over after hitting back-to-back sixes off Romario Shepherd. Andre Russell struggled to get going and was run out by Bosch's wicket-keeper-maiden in the 17th over, leaving him with 3 for 19. Jason Holder rose to the occasion and unleashed a brutal assault on the final opponent just when it appeared as though all hope was lost. In his 22-ball 43, he hit three sixes and fours, helping LAKR score a respectable total of 44 runs in the final three innings.

After MINY fell to 34/1 following the Powerplay, they appeared ready to defend it. That score had only dipped to 55/2 by the 10-over mark, and the asking rate had increased beyond 11. When Pollard took 14 off a Shadley van Schalkwyk over, the tide turned. In the remaining eight overs, with the score still at 80 for 4, Pollard and Anderson had a lot of work to do.

With their surge, they were careful, even allowing Sunil Narine to score just three runs in the 15th over and return remarkable figures of 4-0-7-0. As a result, MINY needed 62 runs in the remaining five overs. In the 17th, Pollard hit Holder for a six and a four, and Anderson added another six to score 19 runs. After getting to a 27-ball 50, Pollard hit two more boundaries off Russell to bring the total down to a 19 off 12 that was easy to get. Before Anderson got under a slot ball and sent it soaring over long on to complete the victory, MINY needed nine runs off the final over but didn't manage any boundaries off the first four deliveries from Carmi le Roux.