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Texas Super Kings meet Washington Freedom in the 27th match of Major League Cricket 2026 at the Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas, and for Texas this is close to a knockout game. Friday’s double header changed the table completely, with MI New York beating Seattle Orcas and the Knight Riders stunning the table topping Unicorns, which leaves three teams on 10 points. Texas sit bottom on 6, and a defeat here would just about end their season. In this preview you will find the match details, form, pitch report and two TSK vs WF fantasy team options, one safe and one for grand leagues.
For Indian viewers, the match starts at 2.00 AM IST in the early hours of Sunday, July 12, which is a 3.30 PM afternoon start in Dallas on Saturday. The game will be shown on Star Sports 2 and streamed on JioHotstar.
TSK vs WF Match Details
Match: Texas Super Kings vs Washington Freedom, 27th Match, MLC 2026
Date: Saturday, July 11 in Dallas (early hours of Sunday, July 12 in India)
Time: 2.00 AM IST | 3.30 PM local time
Venue: Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium, Dallas
Broadcast in India: Star Sports 2, JioHotstar
MLC 2026 Points Table After Friday’s Double Header
| Pos | Team | P | W | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco Unicorns | 9 | 5 | 4 | 10 |
| 2 | Los Angeles Knight Riders | 9 | 5 | 4 | 10 |
| 3 | MI New York | 9 | 5 | 4 | 10 |
| 4 | Seattle Orcas | 9 | 4 | 5 | 8 |
| 5 | Washington Freedom | 8 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 6 | Texas Super Kings | 8 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
The top three are level on 10 points and separated only by net run rate after Friday’s results, when MI New York defended 179 against the Orcas and the Knight Riders defended 184 against the Unicorns.
The maths for Saturday is brutal. If Texas lose, they can reach a maximum of 8 points, and with three teams already on 10 they would need a ridiculous set of results and a huge run rate swing to survive, especially with their run rate at minus 0.113. If Washington win, they join the group on 10 points with a game in hand spent, and their playoff destiny stays in their own hands despite a poor run rate of minus 0.637. Put simply, Texas must win, and Washington nearly must.
Texas Super Kings: Three Straight Defeats And Fading Fast
Texas started this season well, beating the Unicorns while defending 161 and chasing down MI New York’s 127 with an over to spare. Since then it has all gone wrong. They lost to Washington in a last ball thriller, failed to defend 173 against the Knight Riders, and then fell apart against Seattle, bowled out for 112 chasing just 122 in the match where Dasun Shanaka took four wickets in four balls.
Saiteja Mukkamalla has been the batting bright spot, sitting among the tournament’s top five run scorers with over 215 runs. Around him, Faf du Plessis leads a lineup with plenty of names, Rilee Rossouw, Donovan Ferreira and Wiaan Mulder among them, but the returns have not matched the reputations. The spin pair of Keshav Maharaj and Akeal Hosein is high quality, and Adam Milne, Nandre Burger and Hardus Viljoen give Faf pace options, so this squad should not be bottom of the table. Three defeats in a row say otherwise.
Washington Freedom: A Missed Chance And A Point To Prove
Washington had won two in a row before Thursday night, chasing small totals against the Unicorns and Knight Riders on tricky Pomona pitches. Then they let a big chance slip. Chasing 193 against the Knight Riders at Grand Prairie, Andries Gous gave them a rapid start with 40 off 25 and Lahiru Milantha kept them in it, but Andre Russell took three wickets, Shadley van Schalkwyk struck twice late, and they finished 18 short. The Knight Riders had never beaten them before that night.
Steven Smith’s side still holds the strongest hand of the two teams in this game. Mitchell Owen sits second in the MLC 2026 run charts with over 340 runs and has been their engine at the top all season. Smith himself steered the low chase against the Knight Riders in Pomona with an unbeaten 40, and the attack of Ben Dwarshuis, Saurabh Netravalkar, Jack Edwards and Ian Holland has defended and chased under pressure. Their season has swung between very good and very flat, and with the run rate damage from Thursday, they cannot afford another flat one.
TSK vs WF Head To Head Record
Washington Freedom own this fixture. They lead the last five meetings 4 wins to 1, and they won the game earlier this season in the cruellest way possible for Texas, chasing 186 with one wicket in hand off the final over after Texas had posted 185 for 4. Texas’s only recent win came in a five over rain match in 2025. Every full length meeting since 2023 has gone Washington’s way.
Grand Prairie Pitch Report: Bat First And Pile Them Up
The Dallas leg of MLC 2026 has flipped the script from earlier in the week. Both matches in Friday’s double header were won by the team batting first, with MI New York defending 179 and the Knight Riders defending 184. The average first innings score in this leg is 181 against 167 in the second innings, so runs on the board have counted.
Fast bowlers have taken 80 percent of the wickets in the last ten matches at the venue, the highest pace share of the tournament. That points to Milne, Burger and Viljoen for Texas and Dwarshuis, Netravalkar and Edwards for Washington doing the damage, while Maharaj and Hosein will have to create pressure rather than expect help. Expect the toss winner to bat, and expect 180 to be the target score.
Dallas Weather Report For TSK vs WF
This one carries a small weather risk. The forecast for Saturday afternoon in Dallas is partly sunny, around 26 degrees with 75 percent humidity and a 25 percent chance of rain. A full game remains the likeliest outcome, but a passing shower and a shortened match cannot be ruled out, which makes the toss and DLS awareness matter a little more.
TSK vs WF Probable Playing XIs
Texas Super Kings (probable): Faf du Plessis (c), Saiteja Mukkamalla, Joshua Tromp, Smit Patel (wk), Rilee Rossouw, Donovan Ferreira, Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Akeal Hosein, Adam Milne, Nandre Burger
Hardus Viljoen and Calvin Savage are the other pace options, and Milind Kumar and Mohammad Mohsin give them local batting depth if they reshuffle after three defeats.
Washington Freedom (probable): Mitchell Owen, Steven Smith (c), Andries Gous (wk), Mark Chapman, Nikhil Chaudhary, Lahiru Milantha, Obus Pienaar, Jack Edwards, Ian Holland, Ben Dwarshuis, Saurabh Netravalkar
This is the XI from Thursday’s defeat. Glenn Maxwell, Marco Jansen and Lockie Ferguson are all in the squad if the Freedom decide the must win situation calls for extra firepower.
TSK vs WF Full Squads
Texas Super Kings: Faf du Plessis (c), Smit Patel (wk), Saiteja Mukkamalla, Joshua Tromp, Rilee Rossouw, Shubham Ranjane, Dian Forrester, Donovan Ferreira, Wiaan Mulder, Milind Kumar, Mohammad Mohsin, Keshav Maharaj, Akeal Hosein, Calvin Savage, Amshi de Silva, Abhimanyu Lamba, Adam Milne, Hardus Viljoen, Nandre Burger
Washington Freedom: Steven Smith (c), Andries Gous (wk), Mitchell Owen, Mark Chapman, Glenn Maxwell, Rachin Ravindra, Lahiru Milantha, Nikhil Chaudhary, Obus Pienaar, Mukhtar Ahmed, Jack Edwards, Ian Holland, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Ben Dwarshuis, Saurabh Netravalkar, Amila Aponso, Abhishek Paradkar, Yasir Mohammad, Asif Mehmood
Key Player Battles
Mitchell Owen vs Adam Milne: Owen attacks from ball one and Milne’s pace with the new ball is Texas’s best chance of removing him early. On a ground where 80 percent of wickets go to the quicks, the first three overs of the Freedom innings could decide the game.
Faf du Plessis vs Ben Dwarshuis: The Texas captain needs a big innings in a must win game, and Dwarshuis’s left arm angle has troubled top orders all season. Faf against the new ball sets up everything Texas do.
Saiteja Mukkamalla vs Ian Holland: Mukkamalla has been Texas’s most reliable scorer, and Holland’s clever changes of pace in the middle overs are how Washington have squeezed teams on slower afternoon pitches.
TSK vs WF Fantasy Team (Small Leagues)
Wicketkeeper: Andries Gous
Batters: Mitchell Owen (C), Faf du Plessis, Saiteja Mukkamalla (VC), Mark Chapman
All Rounders: Wiaan Mulder, Donovan Ferreira
Bowlers: Ben Dwarshuis, Saurabh Netravalkar, Keshav Maharaj, Adam Milne
Owen is the captain pick with over 340 runs this season, second in the tournament, and an afternoon pitch with runs in it suits his powerplay hitting. Mukkamalla is the vice captain as the most consistent Texas batter and a top five run scorer in the league. Gous is in form after his 40 off 25 on this ground on Thursday, and the bowling picks lean on pace given the 80 percent wicket share for quicks in Dallas.
TSK vs WF Fantasy Team (Grand Leagues)
For grand leagues, this second TSK vs WF fantasy team leaves out Owen and Gous, who will be the two most owned Freedom players in this match.
Wicketkeeper: Lahiru Milantha
Batters: Steven Smith (C), Rilee Rossouw, Nikhil Chaudhary, Saiteja Mukkamalla
All Rounders: Wiaan Mulder (VC), Jack Edwards, Donovan Ferreira
Bowlers: Keshav Maharaj, Adam Milne, Saurabh Netravalkar
Smith as captain is the differential play. Most of the crowd will captain Owen, while Smith has quietly anchored two winning chases this season and a must win game is exactly his kind of situation. Mulder is the vice captain because he offers overs and a top six batting spot at low ownership. Milantha batted well on this ground on Thursday and is a cheap keeper. Rossouw is a punt on class in a game Texas cannot afford to lose, and Chaudhary has chipped in with runs in both Freedom wins in Pomona. If Owen fails early and Smith bats deep, this team jumps a lot of places.
Also Read- WI vs NZ Fantasy Team, 1st ODI: Preview, Probable XIs, Pitch Report And Prediction
TSK vs WF Match Prediction
Washington Freedom should win this. They have the better record in this fixture, the second highest run scorer in the tournament, and a habit of beating Texas in every kind of game, including the last ball thriller earlier this season. Texas have lost three straight and their run rate suggests they have been second best for weeks. But desperation does strange things, the Texas attack of Maharaj, Hosein, Milne and Burger is good enough to defend a total on any pitch, and the 25 percent rain chance adds one more variable. Washington start as clear favourites, and if Owen and Gous get through the first six overs, Texas’s season effectively ends on Saturday afternoon.
FANTASY
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FAQs
Q. When is the TSK vs WF match in MLC 2026?
A. The 27th match of MLC 2026 will be played on Saturday, July 11 at Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas, starting at 3.30 PM local time, which is 2.00 AM IST in the early hours of Sunday, July 12.
Q. Where can I watch TSK vs WF live in India?
A. The match will be shown on Star Sports 2 and streamed live on JioHotstar in India.
Q. Can Texas Super Kings still qualify for the MLC 2026 playoffs?
A. Barely. Texas are bottom with 6 points and can reach a maximum of 10 by winning their last two games. A defeat on Saturday would leave them needing several other results and a big net run rate swing to stay alive.
Q. Who should be captain in the TSK vs WF fantasy team?
A. Mitchell Owen is the best captain choice with over 340 runs this season, the second most in MLC 2026. Steven Smith is a strong differential captain for grand leagues after anchoring two winning chases this season.
Q. What is the head to head record between TSK and WF?
A. Washington Freedom lead the last five meetings 4 wins to 1, including a one wicket win off the final over earlier this season when they chased down Texas’s 185.
Q. How does the Grand Prairie pitch play?
A. Fast bowlers have taken 80 percent of the wickets in the last ten matches here, and both games in Friday’s double header were won by the team batting first, with an average first innings score of 181 in the Dallas leg.