Seattle Orcas vs MI New York, Final - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

MI New York finished fourth in the league stage, but they were class apart in the playoffs. They won the Eliminator against Washington Freedom, beat the Texas Super Kings in the Challenger and have absolutely thrashed Seattle Orcas in the final. Trent Boult was the leading wicket-taker as the swing king picked wickets as if he was plucking petals out of a rose. As a result of his excellent bowling and pivotal contributions from Rashid Khan, the MI New York bowling looked lethal in the playoffs. Despite Pollard's injury, they looked unfazed as Pooran, Brevis and David took charge of the batting order, with the captain leading from the front in the final. Has been quite a success this tournament in the United States and it was a pleasure covering this league for you folks. For now, it's a goodbye from Nikhil, Abhinand and Harish. You can tune in later for our live coverage of the final day of the Ashes. See you!

Sunil Gavaskar hands the trophy to MI New York as they celebrate with some confetti. They pose with the trophy along with their owner (Mrs Nita Ambani) who looks pretty happy and satisfied. She must be used to this by now, with MI lifting 5 titles in IPL, few in the champions league, Women’s IPL and now in the United States! Plenty of happy faces in the MI New York team and in the crowd. They pose with the banner of MLC champions 2023 and cheer for New York! The brand (MI) keeps getting bigger and better..

Nicholas Pooran | MI New York captain: Chatting today we spoke about creating history. We lost our captain, and a couple of players. At the end of the day I am proud as everyone contributed. We knew it was a good batting wicket, we were prepared for this moment from a week ago. We had to be confident and believe in each other. We got over the line today, we were been put under pressure earlier this week. You are going to bat like Nicky P, I told myself, and backed my skill. I just had to execute my skills, I have been working on it since the last 5-6 years. It was really special for me. I just want to thank all the fans and supporters, they have been really amazing.

The MI players are getting medals as their owner (Nita Ambani) is on the stage to present it to all of them..

Cameron Gannon | Domestic player of the tournament: Very happy, but tonight's about MI New York. Congratulations to them. Haven't seen a knock like that (Pooran). It's been a great tournament, the quality has been exceptional. It has been fun playing with the best players in the world, going to be fantastic for USA cricket going forward. I think I will like to play in the World Cup someday, that will be nice. I am 34, not looking too far into the future for now.

Wayne Parnell | Orcas Captain: When someone plays a knock like that, you got to give credit. Obviously disappointed to have lost, but credit to Nicky and his team. I think it was a lot slower initially, but it started to skid on under lights. We thought it was a decent total, but looking at Pooran (his form) don't think he was going to miss out. Credit to the organisers, credit to our owners for picking such good players.

Time for the final presentations of Major League Cricket 2023

Most runs
Nicholas Pooran (MI New York) - 388
Most wickets
Trent Boult (MI New York) - 22
Highest individual score
Nicholas Pooran (137*) vs Seattle Orcas (final)
Best spell of the season
Saurabh Netravalkar (6/9) vs San Francisco Unicorns

Kieron Pollard: No more rivalry (with Dwayne Bravo whom he was texting). I am just telling him I'm coming to catching him. Looking forward to play with him in the CPL. Very special. Congratulations and kudos to the guys on the cricket field. They took the team from Eliminator to the final. The way we won today, I couldn't be more proud. (On Pooran) Very special, this is something that's been brewing for some time. Sometimes it hurts me not to see him much in the international arena. He's a talent and he's someone that we need in the Caribbean. Congratulations to him, congratulations to the team, the support staff and the entire MI family. It's about belief, and the 'never say die' attitude that we have. We believe in our players and that augurs well for us. In the nine trophies, I have been part of all of them. Even women's (WPL), I was there for the final. We are going to raise the bar in franchise cricket. Thanking you (fans) for coming out and supporting today. This was the home ground of TSK but we painted blue today. They were fantastic throughout the tournament. Hopefully we can see you all next year as well.

Rashid Khan: I had only three hours to get here (to this tournament) and get ready. It means a lot to me, being a part of this family for the last two years in South Africa, Emirates and here well. Started with a trophy here. Special, first edition of this league and winning this is special. First trophy with MI family. Will enjoy these beautiful moments.

Kagiso Rabada: Great to win in the inaugural year of MLC. Very stoked, that was an unbelievable game. Good to see Nicky P playing the way that he is. There was no way to get him out tonight, he was incredible. That was probably close to the innings of his life. He was also facing good bowlers. It wasn't an easy game. That was unbelievable to witness.

Nosthush Kenjige: I couldn't have asked for anything more. The way we finished it today, the last three games - it's been do-or-die. We have shown our character. Today it was just Nicky P show. Some of the shots he hit, I don't think I have watched anybody hit the way that he did. It was a pleasure watching him. The last three weeks, just to have them all in the dressing room - be it Malinga, Rashid Khan, Boult, Rabada - it's been incredible. Trying to learn as much as I can.

Trent Boult: There's no secret. In finals cricket, it's all about enjoying. Going out there and try to do the job. What a great way to finish the tournament. To see some fireworks like that from Mr. Pooran's bat was very special. Will really enjoy a a very successful couple of weeks.

Shayan Jahangir: The trust and support I have been getting from the franchise, it's been commendable. The backing we got brought us this trophy. The amount of talent we have in the US, we can match any country in the world. The exposure is going to take us to places and we'll put US cricket on the map.

Tim David: Championships are hard to win. Lost a couple of finals but this is an awesome moment. Everyone here were treated to a very special innings. Nicky P, bloody awesome. I got the first class seat in the house. I just let him do his magic. It was a slow start (to the tournament), we really gelled and found some momentum. Everyone contributed at some point. It takes a whole squad, whole support staff to win the cup and we've done it.

Robin Petersen (MI NY coach): We tried to keep our composure and keep it cool. It was always going to be about the team, it was a team effort. A lot of adversities due to injuries, but the players were calm, they believed in each other, showed their fighting qualities.

Dewald Brevis: We are excited to lift the trophy, very grateful for it and ready to celebrate now. It's a great learning curve, we just keep learning. Tried to be better with every game.

David Wiese: I think it's been an amazing effort from everybody. We have exceeded everyone's expectation. Special moment to become the first team to win the title. To see the support it has been amazing. Need to thank our fans. We will enjoy the success and enjoy each other's company tonight.

22:54 Local Time, 03:54 GMT, 09:24 IST: MI New York are the champions of the inaugural edition of Major Cricket League. The brand MI continues to add trophies to their cabinet, doesn't matter which league they are a part of! Showing their dominance across different leagues, across different continents. But let's take some time to realise what we have just witnessed. This innings by Pooran, it will take some time to sink it. The MI New York captain has played an absolutely scintillating knock in the grand finale of the season. Tells you why he is rated so highly in this format! Walked out to bat in the first over of the run chase and took charge right from the word go. He kept punishing the bowlers right throughout the match, never looked like stopping. Wickets were falling from the other end, but Pooran continued to take on the bowlers, dealing in sixes and boundaries. He had a few fifty-run stands during the chase, but it was him who did most of the scoring. The Seattle Orcas would have been happy after posting such a challenging total at the halfway stage, but they would have hardly anticipated that they were going to be hit by a storm called Nicholas Pooran. He had saved his best for the night of the final and the spectators in Dallas were really lucky to witness such an entertaining knock. Let's hear what the MI NY players got to say after winning the title..

Gannon to Pooran, FOUR, MI New York win by 7 wickets! A yorker to end the match as Pooran brings his bat down in time and squeezes it past the stumps and the ball is away to the fine leg boundary at the rate of knots. Pooran was down on the floor after digging out the yorker, but he roars out loudly as soon as he realises that MI New York have won. The MI support staff, his team mates storm on the field and hug their captain. Few of them even salute him. Their owner - Mrs Nita Ambani is now having a chat with Nicky P and thanking him for the kind of knock he has played tonight! The fireworks go up in Dallas