In the final match of the tournament's first leg at Grand Prairie Stadium, defending champions MI New York defeated Texas Super Kings by eight wickets to earn their first victory of the MLC 2026 season. They did this despite the disappointment of losing their first game. Before Nicholas Pooran anchored a composed total of 158 with an unbeaten 68, the foundation was laid by a shrewd bowling effort led by Trent Boult and Corbin Bosch. MINY arrived in need of a response after being the victim of Mitchell Owen's record-breaking innings less than 24 hours earlier. They scored right away thanks to Boult, whose skill with the new ball once more came to the fore. Texas was left reeling at 20 for 2 when the left-arm seamer took out Smit Patel in the opening over and sent Rilee Rossouw back with a sharp delivery. Due to captain Faf du Plessis's back spasm, the Super Kings never quite recovered from the initial damage. Before the Powerplay was over, Bosch joined the fray, making them 36 for 3, necessitating a rebuild. Texas briefly had a chance of a competitive finish thanks to the partnership of 65 runs between Milind Kumar and Shubham Ranjane, who stabilized the innings. However, MINY came up with a strategy to halt the innings whenever it appeared to be gaining momentum. Bosch struck at crucial points to eliminate Donovan Ferreira and Wiaan Mulder, while Ranjane missed a fifty. TSK had been chasing the game from the start thanks to Boult's opening burst, and Bosch's disciplined spell through the middle and death overs stopped any late acceleration. With four deliveries remaining, the innings eventually gave up for 158 runs. The pursuit by MINY got off to a strong start. When Quinton de Kock faced Akeal Hosein in the initial over, he scored two fours and a six, immediately putting pressure on the bowlers. When Amishi de Silva dropped Monank Patel in the third over, Texas rued a costly opportunity missed. The respite was expensive. Before Monank and de Kock put together another successful partnership with Pooran totaling 64 runs, they added a brisk opening stand of 49 runs. Pooran expertly handled the situation, ensuring that the chase did not stumble despite de Kock's initial push. After significantly reducing the equation, Monank left for 46, leaving Pooran to complete the task. The MINY captain started out accumulating at a measured pace before shifting gears at the back end. As the target got closer, the captain found boundaries more and more frequently. With MINY reaching the boundary with 14 balls remaining, his unbeaten 68 ensured that there would be no last-minute drama.