ADVERTISEMENTs

Kunal Nayyar cheers as SF Unicorns bag opening win

San Francisco Unicorns defeated Washington Freedom by 123 runs in their first home game.

San Francisco Unicorns clinches victory in their first match of the season / X/ SFOUnicorns

The San Francisco Unicorns opened their 2025 Major League Cricket (MLC) campaign with a record-breaking 123-run victory over Washington Freedom at the Oakland Coliseum, backed by the presence of team ambassador and actor Kunal Nayyar. 

Finn Allen lit up the historic baseball venue with a blistering 151 off 51 balls — the highest score in MLC history and the most sixes ever hit in a professional T20 innings. His explosive knock powered San Francisco to a mammoth 269/5, the league’s highest-ever team total. Supporting knocks from Hassan Khan (38*) and Sanjay Krishnamurthi (36) added to the carnage.

Also read: 3 ways to grow cricket in America

Washington responded through Mitchell Owen and Rachin Ravindra, reaching 63/0 in just four overs. But a fiery spell from Haris Rauf (3/30) turned the match on its head. With the middle order dismantled and spinners Khan and Le Roux joining the attack, Washington collapsed to 146 all out.

Beyond the field, the Unicorns’ rise is being powered by a remarkable group of investors and leaders including Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, ICONIQ Capital’s Divesh Makan, Neeraj Arora, former chief business officer of WhatsApp, and Nayyar himself — all united in their vision to grow cricket in the U.S. 

Principal owners Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan, renowned Silicon Valley pioneers and early investors in Facebook, are steering the franchise with a focus on innovation, community, and global sporting excellence.

“This world-class group of investors brings deep strategic expertise and a shared vision for growing the game of cricket in the Bay Area and across the United States,” said Rajaraman. 
 

Comments

Related