It rained sixes in Washington Freedom’s record chase of 267

Washington Freedom rewrote the T20 record books with a sensational six-wicket victory over MI New York in a high-scoring Major League Cricket (MLC) 2026 clash at the Oakland Coliseum on Wednesday.

The match turned into a six-hitting spectacle, with a record 51 sixes struck in just under 40 overs. While Nicholas Pooran dazzled with a magnificent century for MI New York, his effort was overshadowed by Steve Smith’s fastest-ever T20 hundred and Andries Gous becoming the first American batter to score a century in MLC history. The pair shared a breathtaking 241-run partnership off just 89 balls to power Washington Freedom to a historic win.

Chasing a mammoth target of 267, Freedom reached the total with eight balls to spare, registering the highest successful run chase in T20 history. The feat surpassed the previous record set by Punjab Kings, who chased 265 against Delhi Capitals in the IPL earlier this year.

Former Australia captain Steve Smith led from the front, remaining unbeaten on 110 from just 48 balls, an innings featuring nine sixes and seven fours. He brought up his century in only 40 deliveries – the fastest T20 hundred of his career. Wicketkeeper-batter Andries Gous was equally destructive, blasting 132 off 51 balls, including 12 sixes and 10 fours.

Their record-breaking stand eclipsed the previous highest third-wicket partnership in T20 cricket – the 213-run alliance between Mumbai’s Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav against Sikkim in Indore in 2019.

The victory also eclipsed Punjab Kings’ record chase of 264 against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in IPL 2026, setting a new benchmark in T20 cricket.

“From ball one, he (Andries Gous) just came out and felt like he didn’t miss the middle of the bat the whole night. Everything just kept flying over the rope. I had the best seat in the house up there. It was a wonderful win,” Smith said after the match.

Reflecting on the remarkable chase, he added: “Obviously, chasing 260-plus, a lot has to go right. We got off to a bit of a shaky start, but then the ball just started coming off the middle of both our bats. Fortunately, they kept clearing the ropes. We tried to keep the required rate around 14 an over, knowing that two good hits each over would keep us on track. It worked out nicely.”