Nikhil Chaudhary struck a sensational six off the final ball to give Washington Freedom a thrilling one-wicket victory over Texas Super Kings in Oakland, which featured a number of extraordinary twists and turns. The winning run came shortly after Akeal Hosein became the first player in Major League Cricket history to score a hat trick. The fact that Freedom was defending six runs in the final over of a chase for 185 that looked like it would be easy to complete summed up an evening in which momentum shifted every two minutes. The contest as a whole was reflected in the final stages. After Mitchell Owen's breathtaking 35-ball 77, which included six sixes, had provided the ideal foundation, Freedom only required 74 from 60 balls at the halfway point of the chase, with eight wickets in hand. However, the equation quickly became 43 from 24—much more uncertain. With Chaudhary struggling for fluency, Obus Pienaar appeared to have landed the decisive blows, launching two towering sixes in his first six deliveries. However, he was unable to complete the task, miscuing a slog off Adam Milne with 15 remaining from 11 balls. Even then, Marco Jansen's six-over-long-on short-arm jab in the penultimate over was thought to have effectively concluded the chase. The left-arm spinner played one of the tournament's most dramatic overs after giving up 30 runs in his first three overs. As Jansen's attempt at a reverse sweep reached a backward point, he began with a dot. The South African then opted for a conventional sweep but top-edged to short fine leg. Amila Aponso, who had shown how good he was at hitting in the loss to the Seattle Orcas two nights earlier, holed out to deep middle wicket in an effort to hit a big hit. Before Saiteja Mukkamalla whipped off the bails, Asif Mehmood missed a pull attempt and failed to drag his foot behind the crease, giving Hosein a historic hat trick and dragging No. 11 Lockie Ferguson to the crease with six needed from two balls. Ferguson managed only a leg-bye after missing a skidder which TSK reviewed for LBW unsuccessfully. It forced Chaudhary to deal with the final delivery, which required five. He shuffled across after watching the chaos from the non-striker's end and finally found the middle of his bat. He hit a six over the ropes before wheeling away in celebration, only to be surrounded by teammates who had already entered the field. That Texas Super Kings came within a ball of victory owed much to their spirited fightback, but their inability to press home the advantage stemmed largely from a sluggish Powerplay after opting to bat. In the first six overs, Faf du Plessis consumed 14 deliveries for eight runs, reducing them to just 33. Rilee Rossouw and Mukkamalla revived the innings with a brisk partnership through the middle overs, but Chaudhary (2 for 29) also produced the star turn with the ball, dismissing both set batters to force another rebuilding phase. Freedom then let the opposition back into the game with two dropped catches, which Wiaan Mulder and Donovan Ferreira used spectacularly to add an unbeaten 75 from 31 deliveries. Both faced 20 balls, with Mulder completing 43 and Ferreira completing 44. This brought Texas' total to what appeared to be a number that could be defended, and they were close to defending it.