By Tim Douglas 
Texas Super Kings finally brought smiles to their Dallas faithful, registering a commanding 52-run win over the LA Knight Riders to notch their first home victory of the MLC 2025 season at Grand Prairie Stadium.
After early trouble at the top, a spirited revival by Shubham Ranjane (70 off 47) and Donovan Ferreira (43 off 21) sparked a thrilling late-innings surge, lifting the Super Kings to a competitive 196/8 in their 20 overs.
The early going wasn’t easy for Texas. Shadley van Schalkwyk wreaked havoc with the new ball, claiming three wickets in his opening spell to peg the hosts back. But Ranjane held firm, crafting a mature innings while building a crucial partnership with Smit Patel (38), which added stability and revived the scoring rate.
Just as LA threatened to claw back, Ferreira walked in and unleashed a flurry of boundaries. Targeting both Ali Khan and Andre Russell, Ferreira’s aggressive approach shifted the game’s momentum in the final stretch, where Texas scored 72 runs in the last 5 overs.
The Super Kings’ bowlers backed up the effort with a composed and clinical display.
Akeal Hosein was the pick of the bowlers early on, striking twice in the same over to dismiss both Alex Hales and Nitish Kumar, plunging the Knight Riders into early trouble.
From there, it was a steady slide for LAKR. Noor Ahmad, who had endured a dip in form recently, bounced back superbly with figures of 2/27, including a peach to get rid of the dangerous Andre Russell. The visitors never quite recovered from the powerplay blows and stumbled to 144/7, well short of the target.
The win ends a frustrating drought at home for the Super Kings, who now carry positive momentum into their next clash against MI New York on June 29.
Meanwhile, LA Knight Riders, with only one win so far, will need to regroup quickly ahead of their next challenge against a red-hot Washington Freedom side on June 26.
With their batting clicking and bowling unit finding rhythm, Texas Super Kings may have finally found their groove — just in time for the business end of the season.
Match Summary:
TSK: 196/8 in 20 overs (Shubham Ranjane 70, Donovan Ferreira 43, Smit Patel 38, Andre Russell 37/3)
LAKR: 144/7 in 20 overs (Unmukt Chand 30, Jason Holder 26, Akeal Hosein 10/2, Noor Ahmad 27/2)
Result: Texas Super Kings Win by 52 runs
Anas Ahmed