Delhi: The final match of Major League Cricket 2026 was full of thrill. On the strength of the brilliant bowling of experienced all-rounders Sunil Narine and Jason Holder, Los Angeles Knight Riders created history by defeating Washington Freedom by 1 run. This is the first MLC title in the history of Los Angeles Knight Riders.

Chasing the target of 164 runs, Washington Freedom came very close to victory, but Los Angeles Knight Riders won by 1 run on the last ball.

Sunil Narayan gave big shocks in the beginning

Captain Sunil Narayan gave a great start to Los Angeles Knight Riders who had to defend 164 runs. He first dismissed Mitchell Owen and then Rachin Ravindra. After this Steve Smith was also bowled. On the score of 29, 3 big wickets of Washington team had fallen. Due to these initial shocks, Washington Freedom came under pressure.

Jason Holder turned the match in the middle overs

However, after 3 wickets fell early, Andris Goss (40) and Nikhil Chaudhary (25) took over the innings and made an important partnership of 65 runs for the fourth wicket. This pair was broken by Jason Holder. Jason Holder changed the course of the match by taking important wickets consecutively. Holder broke the back of Washington Freedom’s team by dismissing Nikhil Chaudhary, Ben Dwarshuis and Andres Goss. During this time, he also completed the 400th wicket of his T20 career.

Obus Pinar played a fighting innings

At one time it seemed that the match was completely in the control of Los Angeles Knight Riders, but Obus Pinar took the match to the last ball by scoring 53 runs in 24 balls. In the last over, Washington Freedom needed 14 runs to win. Pinar hit a six on the very first ball, but Shadley van Schalkwyk bowled him on the next ball and turned the tide of the match.

Washington Freedom needed 2 runs to win on the last ball, but the match ended with Lahiru Milantha run out and Los Angeles Knight Riders registered a memorable victory.

LA Knight Riders faltered in batting

Earlier, Los Angeles Knight Riders, batting first, scored 164 runs. Colin Munro (40) and Andre Fletcher (47) gave a fast start to the team and added 66 runs for the first wicket. However, after the dismissal of both the openers, the Knight Riders team was in trouble. The team lost wickets at frequent intervals. With the help of Matthew Trump’s inning of 39 runs in 21 balls, the Knight Riders team was successful in scoring 164 runs in 19.4 overs.

Ben Dwarshuis took maximum 3 wickets from Washington Freedom. Apart from them, Mitchell Owen, Rachin Ravindra and Nikhil Chaudhary took 2 wickets each.

Knight Riders became champion for the first time

The target of 164 runs was not big, but the experience of Sunil Narayan and Jason Holder turned it into a victory. With brilliant bowling and maintaining composure under pressure, Los Angeles Knight Riders won the MLC title for the first time. Sunil Narine was awarded the title of Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament.