California, June 13 (IANS) Finn Allen stole the show on the opening night of Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025 with a historic innings, smashing a 51-ball 151 to power the San Francisco Unicorns to a massive 123-run victory over defending champions Washington Freedom.

Allen’s whirlwind knock set multiple records. He became the fastest player to score 150 in T20 history and broke Chris Gayle’s long-standing record of 18 sixes in a T20 innings by clearing the boundary 19 times. His assault began right from the tournament’s first over, launching his first six with an audacious lap shot.

While Tim Seifert chipped in with a short cameo before falling early, and Jake Fraser-McGurk had another forgettable outing, Allen dominated from one end. Sanjay Krishnamurthi added to the fireworks with four sixes in an over off Rachin Ravindra — a feat Ravindra himself matched later during the chase.

Allen hit three consecutive sixes off both Mitchell Owen and fellow Kiwi Glenn Phillips, reaching 86 off just 28 balls. His century, which came off only 34 deliveries, set a new MLC record, surpassing Nicholas Pooran’s 40-ball ton. With seven overs still left, Allen continued to pile on the runs, and when he smashed his 18th six, SFU had already posted the highest total in MLC history.

He raised his 150 off just 49 balls, again breaking new ground in T20 cricket. Gayle’s record for the highest individual score in T20s was under threat, but Allen’s stunning knock ended when he miscued one to long-on. Hassan Khan then added the finishing touches with an unbeaten 38, taking SFU to a mammoth 270.

Freedom showed early promise in the chase as Mitchell Owen and Rachin Ravindra hammered 79 runs in the first five overs, threatening to pull off the improbable. However, their momentum stalled after Fraser-McGurk took a brilliant catch and a mix-up in the next over resulted in both openers falling in quick succession.

From a strong 80/0, Freedom collapsed to 117/8, with the innings unravelling rapidly. Haris Rauf turned the game decisively, trapping Glenn Maxwell lbw and cleaning up Phillips in the same over. Hassan Khan and Carmie le Roux joined the action as wickets continued to tumble in clusters, with Freedom losing two wickets per over at one point. Rauf sealed the result with his third wicket, wrapping up the innings with 41 balls to spare and handing the Unicorns a dominant start to their campaign.

Brief scores: San Francisco Unicorns 269/5 in 20 overs (Finn Allen 151, Hassan Khan 38*; Jack Edwards 2-39) beat Washington Freedom 146/10 in 13.1 overs (Rachin Ravindra 42, Mitchell Owen 39; Haris Rauf 3-30) by 123 runs.

–IANS

ab/bc