Chand, Russell star as LAKR open their account in MLC 2025

Unmukt Chand's unbeaten 86 off 58 balls and Andre Russell's 3 for 30 helped Los Angeles Knight Riders end their three-match losing streak in MLC 2025, as they beat Seattle Orcas by six wickets in Dallas. The result kept Orcas winless after four games.

Opting to bat, Orcas posted a formidable 177 for 6 with useful contributions from their top three. Shayan Jahangir scored 26 off 15 as he and David Warner gave them a brisk start of 33 in 3.3 overs. LAKR captain Jason Holder provided the breakthrough by having Jahangir caught behind.

Warner and Aaron Jones then took the side to 85 in the 11th over before Russell had Warner playing on. He made 38 off 28.

Jones was on a-run-a-ball 29 at one point. But he hit a six each of Corné Dry and Russell to finish on 44 off 36. However, with Kyle Mayers and Heinrich Klaasen failing to capitalise on the platform, Orcas could manage only 39 in the last four overs.

Russell was the pick of the bowlers. Bowling wide and slower yorkers, he kept a lid on the scoring rate. In his final over, the 20th of the innings, he gave away just two runs and dismissed Shimron Hetmyer.

LAKR didn't have a great start and were 7 for 2 in the third over. But Chand, almost singlehandedly, steered them to 45 for 2 after six. He smashed Cameron Gannon for back-to-back fours in the fifth over before hitting a six and a four off Harmeet Singh in the sixth.

Still, LAKR were lagging behind at the halfway stage, at 72 for 2. Chand was on 42 off 36 and Saif Badar on 17 off 16. But then Chand shellacked Gerald Coetzee for two sixes and two fours in a 20-run over to shift the momentum. Badar also joined in with two sixes and a four across three balls.

Chand and Badar reduced the equation to 40 needed from 30 balls. Their stand of 139 off 79 balls came to an end when Badar fell for 54 off 32. Rovman Powell lasted only three balls, but Chand, in the company of Sherfane Rutherford, took LAKR over the line with ten balls to spare.