Steve Smith, who was dropped from Australia’s T20 World Cup squad, shines in the MLC final

Steve Smith played yet another big innings when it mattered the most.

Steve Smith, who was dropped from Australia’s T20 World Cup squad, shines in the MLC final

Steve Smith ( Via ESPNCricinfo)

The Washington Freedom and the San Francisco Unicorns locked horns in the final of Major League Cricket (MLC) at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas. Corey Anderson, the captain of the San Francisco Unicorns, won the toss and elected to bowl first. Despite losing the dangerous Travis Head early in the innings, Washington Freedom’s Steve Smith put on a show.

He scored 88 runs off 52 balls and kept the scoreboard ticking at one end. His Australia teammate, Glenn Maxwell stepped up and scored a quick cameo.

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Maxwell smashed 40 runs off 22 balls and took the Freedom’s score to 207/5 at the end of 20 overs. Steve Smith displayed his attacking shots as he smashed 7 fours and 6 sixes with a strike-rate of 169.23.

It was yet again that Smith stood up on yet another big night. Unicorns were all-out for 111 in just 16 overs and Washington Freedom won the game by 96 runs.

Steve Smith was dropped from Australia’s T20 World cup 2024 squad

Smith has been a legend in Test cricket and is one of the greatest batters ever produced in this format. However, he has not made his mark in the shortest format of the game for Australia. Smith has struggled to get going and hit his strides in T20I cricket. He has mainly struggled with his strike-rate and his ability to produce aggressive innings in this format. Smith even played as a opener but did not get going.

Steve Smith, who was dropped from Australia's T20 World Cup squad, shines in the MLC final
Steve Smith ( Via ESPNCricinfo)

In the recent T20 World Cup 2024 in West Indies and USA, Smith was dropped from the Australian squad. Later in the tournament, Australia were knocked out of the Super 8 stage.

Smith’s low strike rate and failure to play impact innings caused his exclusion from the Australian squad in the T20 World Cup 2024. However, he proved his mettle with stunning innings in the final of MLC which led his team to victory.

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