MLC 2025: 151 runs in 51 balls, including 19 sixes! Finn Allen tears record books in season opener

19 massive sixes, 150 off 49 balls and much more. New Zealand opener Finn Allen was in some mood on Friday (June 13) during the 2025 Major League Cricket (MLC) first game of the season between the San Francisco Unicorns and Washington Freedom. The right-handed batter broke plenty of records in his standout inning that launched the third edition of this America-based T20 league. His innings also propelled Unicorns to 269 for five – the highest team total in the tournament history.

Batting first after losing the toss, Allen went berserk from the word go. Whacking bowlers to all parts of the ground for fun, the Kiwi opener reminded everyone of Brendon McCullum’s famous IPL outing 18 years ago, wherein his 158 changed the dynamics of T20 cricket and the tournament's fate forever.

Returning to the game, Allen looked in no mood to stop. He smashed sixes to almost everyone and everywhere, cheering the limited crowd in attendance for the season opener. Although Sanjay Krishnamurthi and Hassan Khan contributed with handy 30s later on, Allen stood out till the end, completing 19 sixes – a world record in T20 cricket. His tally saw him surpass the format’s legend Chris Gayle and Estonia’s Sahil Chauhan (both tied at 18 sixes) for most sixes hit by a player in a T20 match.

Most sixes hit in a T20 game –

• Finn Allen – 19 sixes against Washington Freedom, 2025
• Chris Gayle – 18 sixes against Dhaka Dynamites in 2017
• Sahil Chauhan – 18 sixes against Cyprus in 2024
• Chris Gayle – 17 sixes against Pune Warriors in 2013
• Punit Bisht – 17 sixes against Mizoram in 2021
  

Not only did he smash MLC’s fastest hundred and the quickest by a New Zealander (34 balls) across all T20s, but Allen also completed the quickest 150 in the format's history, tearing record books.

Allen’s 151 is also the highest individual score in MLC history, surpassing Nicholas Pooran’s 137* two years ago.

Unicorns win

Defending 270, Unicorns got off to a dizzy start, conceding 80 runs inside the first six overs.

However, from there on, they triggered a collapse, with Washington Freedom getting all out on 146, conceding the game by a massive 123 runs.