Dasun Shanaka has given Seattle Orcas a defining Major League Cricket moment after taking four wickets in four balls to seal a nine-run win over Texas Super Kings.
The Sri Lanka all-rounder delivered the tournament’s first double hat-trick in a dramatic final over, turning a chase that Texas appeared to have under control into one of the sharpest finishes of the 2026 MLC season.
Texas needed 15 from the last over before Shanaka ripped through the lower order, completing the four-in-four sequence and dragging Seattle over the line. Cricbuzz’s match coverage recorded Shanaka as player of the match, with the bowler describing the feat as a major career first.
Why Shanaka’s spell matters
The result gives Seattle more than two points. It gives them a pressure template. Shanaka’s over showed that their attack can still win from awkward positions, and it lands at a vital stage of a congested MLC table.
For Texas, the damage is tactical as much as emotional. A chase requiring 15 from six should usually favour the batting side in modern T20 cricket, particularly with wickets in hand. Instead, Seattle’s late squeeze turned Texas’ finishing depth into a vulnerability.
The swing also carries wider franchise significance. ReadCricket recently assessed how Rovman Powell’s chase kept LA Knight Riders alive; Shanaka’s burst now puts Seattle into the same playoff-pressure conversation.
MLC’s own social post framed the moment around Shanaka “bringing this one home” for Seattle, a fair summary of a finish that shifted from routine equation to historic spell in the space of four legal balls.
