Monank Patel's night of emotion and elegance

MLC 2025

By Smit Patel • Jun 20 Fri 2025

It was an emotional experience for Monank Patel, who admitted to feeling overwhelmed during his career-best innings of 93 off 50 balls against the Seattle Orcas. Even Heinrich Klaasen, the Orcas' captain and a top-ranked white-ball batter, acknowledged to MI New York coach Mark Boucher that it was among the best innings he had ever witnessed in a run chase.

Monank Patel hit eight fours and seven sixes on his way to a 50-ball 93 © Sportzpics

Monank effectively utilized his vast experience on a challenging wicket. He demonstrated tactical brilliance in selecting the appropriate shots for each bowler. However, Klaasen's praise might be seen as slightly exaggerated, considering the game's limited stakes and the absence of major stars in the Orcas' bowling attack.

Nevertheless, Klaasen is entitled to his sentiment. The same goes for the young fan holding a handmade "Monank I love you" sign and the wider American cricket community. One of their own had outshone T20 stars such as Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, and Kieron Pollard. His innings was not only the highest score by a domestic batter but also the most impressive knock by a local player in MLC history. This was particularly significant given that domestic batting has been a long-standing weakness in the league.

"This innings doesn't surprise me. Monank is a fantastic player," Boucher stated. "That's why he plays for the US as well. Have been watching him in the nets and haven't been with him for a long period of time. His innings against TSK showed me he knows how to score runs. He struggled upfront in the first game but he stuck it out and ended up scoring 50 in 30 odd balls which is exactly where you want to be as a top order batter. Today when he came in conditions were tough in the power play especially in the second innings. He stuck to the plan and really expressed himself after that and played some fantastic cricket shots all over the park."

Similar to his performance against TSK, Monank avoided the temptation to accelerate too quickly in a significant chase. He respected the conditions, acknowledging the unpredictable bounce of the new ball on the wicket. Notably, over the previous three days, 12 wickets had fallen in the second innings during the 18 overs of the powerplay. His measured start of 4 off 12 balls was a calculated prelude to the explosive hitting that followed. The fireworks began with a remarkable shot: a straight-batted club off a length ball on middle leg from Jasdeep Singh, which sailed over the midwicket boundary. "I liked the cover drive as well that followed it but that was a special shot for me" Monank said.

Despite his strength in hitting down the ground, Monank has rarely used unconventional shots behind square. However, this game was different. He executed lap shots against Jasdeep and Obed McCoy, sending the ball soaring for sixes. It wasn't just luck; his audacious lap shots were a result of his excellent reading of the conditions, understanding of the bowlers, and careful shot selection, which allowed him to take calculated risks behind his back.

"When the bowler keeps bowling hard length after the power play and the pitch keeps up and down from length, I played that shot only to bowlers with height of 6 ft or above," Monank explained. "The ball was extracting variable bounce from tall bowlers. When I was being tested with bouncers, Boucher asked me why I was challenging the speed of the ball and looking to slap them in front of the wicket when the bounce becomes a tad unpredictable in the second innings. He asked me to use the bowlers' pace when you don't trust the wicket truly."

Monank's dominance in the chase was such that he raced to 86 while Michael Bracewell played a supporting role with 26 in their partnership. The USA captain praised the Kiwi player, with whom he enjoys chasing runs. Their partnership has already produced nearly 300 runs in three games: an 80-run stand in a practice match, a crucial 97-run stand against Texas Super Kings, and a match-winning 119-run stand against the Orcas. This might have contributed to Bracewell's promotion in the batting order ahead of Pooran.

"Bracewell is amazing. Behind the scenes hero," Monank said. "He knows what he needs to tell me, that is going to help me. He kept telling me to watch the ball hard, watch the ball hard. That takes you in the zone. That won't make you see the scoreboard too. Such a zone that you keep two shots ready for every delivery. That keeps you away from getting a single negative thought. Your mind never takes over you. Even if I miss he will come and praise me and finally he will say watch the ball hard every time. Reminds of my partnerships with Rashid last year."

The American captain concluded a memorable final night of the season at the Coliseum Stadium. Before doing so, he expressed his desire to represent the USA at the iconic venue in the future. Monank's affinity for the Coliseum awaits the USA chapter, offering a potential opportunity to rekindle those emotions.