In the end, Ryan Rickelton's (89) incredible 52-ball knock for the Seattle Orcas was unsuccessful. As a result, LAKR won their second game in six and moved up to fourth place in the standings, with the Washington Freedoms earning a postseason ticket.
The Los Angeles Knight Riders organized a comfortable run chase despite a subpar performance. Spencer Johnson removed Sunil Narine (8) in the second over, ending his slender run, but Unmukt Chand (62) and Jason Roy (26) went on to form a significant alliance. Los Angeles Knight Riders were 47/1 at the end of the powerplay. Harmeet Singh destroyed Roy and Chand's 58-run partnership in the tenth over.
With three sixes and three fours in 38 deliveries, Unmukt Chand went on to reach his half-century. Chand was dismissed by Harmeet Singh in the 17th over, but the Knight Riders were ahead at 120/5.
After a brief partnership between Nitish Kumar (12) and Saif Badar (18), Andre Russell (10) contributed quickly to guarantee the Los Angeles Knight Riders won with enough balls remaining. The two best bowlers for the Orcas were Cameron Gannon (2/35) and Harmeet Singh (2/27). The Seattle Orcas had an early setback earlier in the day when Corne Dry ejected Shehan Jayasuriya (2).
Quinton de Kock (0) was run out shortly after, but it didn't bother the scorers. Heinrich Klaasen joined opener Ryan Rickelton, who maintained his excellent form and promptly loaded the scoreboard. Rickelton scored 27 of the runs during the powerplay, which put the Seattle Orcas at 36/2 at the end.
Rickelton went into overdrive in the ninth over, hitting Waqar Salamkheil for two straight sixes and two fours in an over that saw 22 runs scored. Interestingly, Rickelton was the only batsman for the Orcas to score a boundary in the first ten overs. In just 28 deliveries, Rickelton reached his half-century, which included five boundaries and five maximums.
Klaasen (23) on the other hand, played a more circumspect knock, offering solidity at the other end until he was, regrettably, run out at 90/3 in the 12th over. Even though Rickelton kept hitting six and four borders, the Orcas were unable to form any more strong alliances due to the lack of support surrounding him.
The seasoned Sunil Narine and Andre Russell castled Aaron Jones (9) and Michael Bracewell (5) before Rickelton was eventually out of the game, bowled out by Spencer Johnson in the 19th over, just making a century. In 20 overs, the Seattle Orcas ended at 142/6.
Brief Score: Seattle Orcas 142/6 (Ryan Rickelton 82, Heinrich Klaasen 23, Corne Dry 1/8, Andre Russell 1/15) lost to Los Angeles Knight Riders 143/6 (Unmukt Chand 62, Jason Roy 27, Harmeet Singh 2/27, Cameron Gannon 2/25) by 4 wickets.