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Looking for the SFU vs SO Fantasy Team Prediction for the 28th match of MLC 2026? San Francisco Unicorns and Seattle Orcas meet at the Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas in a crucial league-stage clash. For Seattle, it is a must-win game to keep their playoff hopes alive. In this preview, you will find the latest match details, pitch report, probable XIs, key player battles, and expert fantasy picks for both small leagues and grand leagues.
For Indian viewers, the match starts at 6.00 AM IST on Sunday, July 12, which is a 7.30 PM night start in Dallas on Saturday. The game will be shown on Star Sports 2 and streamed on JioHotstar.
SFU vs SO Match Details
Match: San Francisco Unicorns vs Seattle Orcas, 28th Match, MLC 2026
Date: Saturday, July 11 in Dallas (Sunday morning, July 12 in India)
Time: 6.00 AM IST | 7.30 PM local time
Venue: Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium, Dallas
Broadcast in India: Star Sports 2, JioHotstar
MLC 2026 Points Table And What This Match Decides
| Pos | Team | P | W | L | NRR | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco Unicorns | 9 | 5 | 4 | +0.457 | 10 |
| 2 | Los Angeles Knight Riders | 9 | 5 | 4 | — | 10 |
| 3 | MI New York | 9 | 5 | 4 | — | 10 |
| 4 | Seattle Orcas | 9 | 4 | 5 | +0.108 | 8 |
| 5 | Washington Freedom | 8 | 4 | 4 | −0.637 | 8 |
| 6 | Texas Super Kings | 8 | 3 | 5 | −0.113 | 6 |
Texas and Washington meet in the afternoon game before this one, so their rows will have moved by the time this match starts, but the stakes here do not change.
For the Unicorns, a win means 12 points, top spot, and almost certainly a top two finish, which brings the Qualifier route and two shots at reaching the final. A defeat leaves them on 10 and exposed, because the Knight Riders, MI New York and possibly Washington can all pass or match them.
For the Orcas, this is the season. A win takes them to 10 points with a healthy run rate of plus 0.108 and drags them right into the playoff scramble. A defeat leaves them on 8, and their only escape route from there involves Washington losing both their remaining games. In plain terms, Seattle must win.
San Francisco Unicorns: One Bad Night After A Brilliant Run
Until Friday, the Unicorns were the form team of MLC 2026. They had won four of five, hammered the defending champions MI New York twice in a week, and watched Lhuan dre Pretorius climb to the top of the run charts with more than 400 runs, including a hundred at this ground.
Then the Knight Riders happened. Chasing 185 on Friday night, the Unicorns were bowled out for 173 and lost by 11 runs, their first defeat in Dallas this leg. One loss does not undo a season, and this remains the deepest team in the tournament. Captain Matthew Short has taken three wicket hauls with his off spin while opening the batting, Finn Allen supplies the powerplay violence, Sanjay Krishnamurthi has anchored tricky chases, and the attack of Haris Rauf, Xavier Bartlett, Aaron Hardie and Brody Couch covers every phase.
One squad note carries over. Ravichandran Ashwin is out for the season with a knee injury and Peter Siddle has been approved as his replacement, so do not pick Ashwin in any fantasy team.
Seattle Orcas: Season On The Line, And Hetmyer In The Ranks
Seattle’s season has refused to settle. They have alternated wins and losses for a month, and Friday brought another setback, a 17 run defeat to MI New York in the afternoon game when 180 proved too many. Now they get one last chance, and they arrive with their strongest possible batting group.
Shimron Hetmyer is the story here. Cricket West Indies gave him clearance to skip the ODI series against New Zealand, which started this weekend, and stay with the Orcas. A finisher of his quality in a knockout situation changes how Seattle can chase, and it says plenty that he chose this game over international cricket.
Around him, the familiar pieces remain. Tim Seifert has been one of the top three run scorers in the tournament all season, striking at around 177. Ottneil Baartman has been their best bowler and one of the leading wicket takers in MLC 2026, Dasun Shanaka produced the first double hat trick in league history two games ago, and Marcus Stoinis captains a side that has shown it can win ugly, defending 121 against Texas. The problem is consistency. Back to back wins have not happened since mid June, and they have picked the worst possible week to need two good games in a row.
SFU vs SO Head To Head Record
The Unicorns lead the recent head to head 4 wins to 2, and they won the meeting earlier this season in an epic at Pomona. Seattle blasted 191 batting first, and San Francisco chased it down with two balls to spare, finishing on 192 for 8. Shayan Jahangir made 62 in that game for the Orcas, and it stands as the highest successful chase either team has been part of this season. Seattle’s most recent win in the fixture came in MLC 2025.
Grand Prairie Pitch Report: Bat First If You Can
The Dallas leg has developed a clear pattern. All three completed games here in the last two days were won by the team batting first, with totals of 192, 179 and 184 defended, and the average first innings score in this leg is 181 against 167 batting second. Dew has not rescued the chasing sides in the night games so far.
Fast bowlers have taken 80 percent of the wickets in the last ten matches at the venue, the highest share in the tournament, which suits Rauf, Bartlett and Couch on one side and Baartman, Gannon and Jasdeep Singh on the other. Spin has been a containing job rather than a wicket taking one. The toss winner should bat, and 180 or more looks like the score to aim for.
Dallas Weather Report For SFU vs SO
The forecast for Saturday night in Dallas is mostly clear, around 24 degrees during the evening with humidity up at 90 percent and a 25 percent chance of rain. A full game is the likeliest outcome, but with humidity that high a passing shower or a damp outfield is possible, and in a match with these stakes a shortened game and DLS maths would add serious drama.
SFU vs SO Probable Playing XIs
San Francisco Unicorns (probable): Lhuan dre Pretorius (wk), Finn Allen, Matthew Short (c), Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Aaron Hardie, Hassan Khan, Oliver Peake, Anirudh Immanuel, Brody Couch, Haris Rauf, Xavier Bartlett
Peter Siddle and Hammad Azam are the bench options, and with top spot on the line the Unicorns are unlikely to rest anyone.
Seattle Orcas (probable): Tim Seifert (wk), Shayan Jahangir, Matthew Breetzke, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis (c), Dasun Shanaka, Ali Sheikh, Harmeet Singh, Cameron Gannon, Jasdeep Singh, Ottneil Baartman
Tim Robinson, Shehan Jayasuriya, Tanveer Sangha and Lutho Sipamla are the alternatives if Seattle want a change for the must win game.
SFU vs SO Full Squads
San Francisco Unicorns: Matthew Short (c), Lhuan dre Pretorius (wk), Finn Allen, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Hassan Khan, Hammad Azam, Oliver Peake, Aaron Hardie, Aakarshit Gomel, Saideep Ganesh, Stephen Wiig, Connor Esterhuizen, Anirudh Immanuel, Juanoy Drysdale, Brody Couch, Haris Rauf, Xavier Bartlett, Peter Siddle, Ghulam Mudassar
Seattle Orcas: Marcus Stoinis (c), Tim Seifert (wk), Shayan Jahangir, Matthew Breetzke, Tim Robinson, Shimron Hetmyer, Sujit Nayak, Rahul Jariwala, Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka, Harmeet Singh, Ayan Desai, Sharad Lumba, Ali Sheikh, Jasdeep Singh, Tanveer Sangha, Cameron Gannon, Ottneil Baartman, Lutho Sipamla
Key Player Battles
Lhuan dre Pretorius vs Ottneil Baartman: The tournament’s leading run scorer against one of its leading wicket takers, and two South Africans who know each other’s games well. Baartman’s cutters into this pitch are the best answer anyone has found to Pretorius this month.
Tim Seifert vs Haris Rauf: Seifert attacks the powerplay harder than anyone in the Orcas lineup, and Rauf’s extra pace on a ground where quicks take 80 percent of the wickets is a genuine threat. Seattle’s total probably rides on this contest.
Shimron Hetmyer vs Matthew Short: If the game reaches the last ten overs with Seattle batting, Hetmyer against Short’s off spin and the death bowlers is where the Orcas’ season will be decided.
SFU vs SO Fantasy Team (Small Leagues)
Wicketkeeper: Lhuan dre Pretorius (C)
Batters: Tim Seifert (VC), Finn Allen, Shimron Hetmyer
All Rounders: Marcus Stoinis, Dasun Shanaka, Matthew Short, Aaron Hardie
Bowlers: Ottneil Baartman, Haris Rauf, Cameron Gannon
Pretorius is the captain on the numbers. He leads MLC 2026 in runs, he scored a hundred on this ground this week, and he keeps wicket for extra points. Seifert is the vice captain as the Orcas’ best batter and a top three run scorer in the tournament. The four all rounder middle keeps points flowing from every phase, and the bowling trio leans fully on pace given the 80 percent wicket share for quicks in Dallas.
SFU vs SO Fantasy Team (Grand Leagues)
For grand leagues, this second SFU vs SO fantasy team leaves out Pretorius and Seifert, who will be the two most owned players in this match.
Wicketkeeper: Finn Allen
Batters: Matthew Breetzke, Shayan Jahangir (Vc), Shimron Hetmyer, Sanjay Krishnamurthi
All Rounders: Matthew Short (C), Marcus Stoinis, Aaron Hardie
Bowlers: Xavier Bartlett, Jasdeep Singh, Brody Couch
Short as captain is the differential, since the crowd will split between Pretorius and Seifert while Short offers four overs of off spin plus top order runs, and he has two three wicket hauls this month. Hetmyer is the aggressive vice captain pick, a low owned finisher who skipped international cricket for this exact game. Jahangir made 62 in the earlier meeting between these teams, Allen doubles as the keeper slot at lower ownership than the two obvious names, and Bartlett, Couch and Jasdeep are quiet accumulators in an attack heavy venue. If the stars fail and the supporting cast decides a knockout, this team flies.
Also Read- TSK vs WF Fantasy Team, MLC 2026 27th Match: Preview, Probable XIs, Pitch Report And Prediction
SFU vs SO Match Prediction
San Francisco have been the better team for a month and they are playing for top spot, but the pressure sits differently on the two sides. The Unicorns qualify regardless of this result in almost every scenario, while the Orcas are playing a knockout, and desperation cuts both ways. Seattle showed against Texas that they can win a scrap, Hetmyer gives their chase a spine it lacked, and the earlier meeting between these teams was decided off the final two balls. The Unicorns start as favourites on form and depth, but this has all the ingredients of the closest game of the Dallas leg, and a Seattle win that throws the playoff race into chaos is a very live outcome.
FANTASY
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FAQs
Q. When is the SFU vs SO match in MLC 2026?
A. The 28th match of MLC 2026 will be played on Saturday, July 11 at Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas, starting at 7.30 PM local time, which is 6.00 AM IST on Sunday, July 12.
Q. Where can I watch SFU vs SO live in India?
A. The match will be shown on Star Sports 2 and streamed live on JioHotstar in India.
Q. What do Seattle Orcas need to qualify for the MLC 2026 playoffs?
A. Seattle must win this match to move to 10 points and stay in the playoff race. If they lose, they finish on 8 points and would need Washington Freedom to lose both their remaining games to sneak into the top four.
Q. Is Shimron Hetmyer playing for Seattle Orcas?
A. Yes. Cricket West Indies gave Hetmyer clearance to skip the home ODI series against New Zealand and continue playing for the Orcas in Major League Cricket.
Q. Who should be captain in the SFU vs SO fantasy team?
A. Lhuan dre Pretorius is the best captain choice as the leading run scorer in MLC 2026 with a hundred at this ground this week. Matthew Short is a strong differential captain for grand leagues with his double role.
Q. What is the head to head record between SFU and SO?
A. San Francisco Unicorns lead the recent head to head 4 wins to 2, including this season’s meeting, where they chased down Seattle’s 191 with two balls to spare.