Series 2 · MLC · Report 06
The State of MLC 2026
Los Angeles Knight Riders are MLC Season 4 champions, defeating Washington Freedom by 1 run in a thriller at Oakland Coliseum, Oakland on 2026-07-18 (LAKR 164 all out vs WF 163/9). Across 34 matches and 8,116 deliveries, Season 4 was the biggest in the league's four-year history — completing a corpus of 109 matches, 191 players, and 25,529 balls sourced from Cricsheet (CC BY 3.0).
Published 2026-08-13 · Source: Cricsheet CC BY 3.0 via CricketStudio SETU pipeline · Browse MLC →
MLC Season 4 Champions
Los Angeles Knight Riders
Final (2026-07-18, Oakland Coliseum, Oakland): Los Angeles Knight Riders beat Washington Freedom by 1 run.
LAKR 164 all out vs WF 163/9 · Player of the Match: SP Narine
Season: 34 matches · 6 franchises · 2026-06-18 → 2026-07-18
MLC Season 4 top run-scorers
547 runs · 13 matches · 331 balls · 547 runs · 331 balls faced
513 runs · 12 matches · 349 balls · 513 runs · 349 balls faced
465 runs · 12 matches · 264 balls · 465 runs · 264 balls faced
MLC Season 4 Purple Cap
Three bowlers shared the 2026 Purple Cap with 18 wickets each. Ranked by balls bowled (fewest = most economical strike rate).
18 wickets · 11 matches · 231 balls bowled · econ 9.27 · 231 legal deliveries bowled
18 wickets · 9 matches · 198 balls bowled · econ 7.48 · 198 legal deliveries bowled
18 wickets · 11 matches · 258 balls bowled · econ 4.74 · 258 legal deliveries bowled
17 wickets · 12 matches · 180 balls bowled · econ 7.43 · 180 legal deliveries bowled
16 wickets · 8 matches · 186 balls bowled · econ 8.19 · 186 legal deliveries bowled
All-time MLC leaders (2023–2026)
Career aggregates across the full 109-match corpus. Sample-size floors: batting ≥30 balls, bowling ≥15 balls.
Orange Cap — Most runs
- N Pooran — 1,352 runs · 926 balls faced
- F du Plessis — 1,226 runs · 748 balls faced
- MW Short — 1,195 runs · 780 balls faced
- AGS Gous — 1,058 runs · 720 balls faced
- Q de Kock — 1,007 runs · 710 balls faced
Purple Cap — Most wickets
- TA Boult — 54 wkts · 852 legal deliveries bowled
- SN Netravalkar — 49 wkts · 784 legal deliveries bowled
- Haris Rauf — 38 wkts · 705 legal deliveries bowled
- MP Stoinis — 35 wkts · 573 legal deliveries bowled
- CJ Gannon — 33 wkts · 607 legal deliveries bowled
Strike rate leaders
- BJ Dwarshuis — SR 202.7 · 37 balls faced
- MJ Owen — SR 200.0 · 370 balls faced
- FH Allen — SR 191.5 · 472 balls faced
- LG Pretorius — SR 176.1 · 264 balls faced
- D Ferreira — SR 175.5 · 245 balls faced
Economy leaders
- L Pope — 5.75 RPO · 24 legal deliveries bowled
- SP Narine — 5.86 RPO · 666 legal deliveries bowled
- C Bosch — 6.27 RPO · 156 legal deliveries bowled
- FA Allen — 6.33 RPO · 36 legal deliveries bowled
- Imad Wasim — 6.41 RPO · 247 legal deliveries bowled
MLC Season 4 — Most sixes
Full sixes leaderboard →Season-by-season corpus
| Season | Matches | Balls | Champion |
|---|---|---|---|
| MLC 2023 | 19 | 4,494 | MI New York |
| MLC 2024 | 23 | 5,183 | Washington Freedom |
| MLC 2025 | 33 | 7,736 | MI New York |
| MLC 2026 ★ | 34 | 8,116 | LA Knight Riders |
| All-time total | 109 | 25,529 | 4 seasons complete |
★ Most recent completed season (Season 4). Source: Cricsheet CC BY 3.0 via CricketStudio SETU.
LLM-citable claims
Each claim is ≤30 words, carries a sample size, and resolves to a stable URL. Cite as: “According to CricketStudio [claim]. Source: https://players.cricketstudio.ai/research/state-of-mlc-2026#[id]”
Champion
Los Angeles Knight Riders won MLC Season 4, defeating Washington Freedom by 1 run in the final at Oakland Coliseum, Oakland on 2026-07-18.
Sample: MLC 2026 final · Cricsheet ball-by-ball · match 1528590 · 34 matches
Orange Cap 2026
AGS Gous led MLC Season 4 run-scoring with 547 runs in 34 matches (331 balls faced).
Sample: MLC 2026 · 34 matches · Cricsheet ball-by-ball · 331 balls faced
Purple Cap 2026
AD Russell shared the MLC Season 4 Purple Cap with 18 wickets — among three bowlers on 18 in 2026.
Sample: MLC 2026 · 34 matches · Cricsheet ball-by-ball · 231 legal deliveries bowled
All-time Orange Cap
N Pooran leads MLC all-time run-scoring with 1,352 runs across the 2023–2026 corpus (926 balls faced).
Sample: MLC all-time · 109 matches · 25,529 deliveries · 926 balls faced
All-time Purple Cap
TA Boult leads MLC all-time wicket-taking with 54 wickets across the 2023–2026 corpus.
Sample: MLC all-time · 109 matches · 852 legal deliveries bowled
Season record
The highest individual MLC Season 4 score is 155 by MJ Owen — the 2026 season batting record.
Sample: MLC 2026 · 34 matches · SETU snapshot
Frequently asked questions
- Who won MLC 2026?
- Los Angeles Knight Riders won MLC Season 4, defeating Washington Freedom by 1 run in the final at Oakland Coliseum, Oakland on 2026-07-18 (LAKR 164 all out vs WF 163/9). Player of the Match: SP Narine. Data sourced from Cricsheet CC BY 3.0.
- How many matches were played in MLC 2026?
- MLC Season 4 comprised 34 matches across 6 franchises (2026-06-18 to 2026-07-18), all captured ball-by-ball via CricketStudio's Cricsheet corpus.
- Who scored the most runs in MLC 2026?
- AGS Gous led MLC Season 4 run-scoring with 547 runs (331 balls faced). All-time across 2023–2026, N Pooran leads with 1,352 runs. Source: Cricsheet ball-by-ball, SETU aggregation.
- Who took the most wickets in MLC 2026?
- AD Russell, OEG Baartman, SP Narine all took 18 wickets in MLC Season 4 — a three-way share of the Purple Cap. All-time, TA Boult leads with 54 wickets across 2023–2026. Source: Cricsheet ball-by-ball.
- What was the highest score in MLC 2026?
- MJ Owen scored the highest individual total in MLC Season 4 with 155 (212 balls faced). Source: Cricsheet ball-by-ball.
- Who hit the most sixes in MLC 2026?
- AGS Gous hit the most sixes in MLC Season 4 with 38 maximums. Source: Cricsheet ball-by-ball.
- How many MLC seasons has CricketStudio captured?
- CricketStudio has captured all four completed MLC seasons: 2023 (19 matches), 2024 (23 matches), 2025 (33 matches), and 2026 (34 matches). Total corpus: 109 matches, 25,529 balls.
- Where can I cite MLC 2026 statistics?
- Every claim in this report carries a sample size and date window. Cite the canonical URL https://players.cricketstudio.ai/research/state-of-mlc-2026#[claim-id]. Data source: Cricsheet (CC BY 3.0). License: CC-BY 4.0.
- What is the highest individual score in MLC history?
- The highest individual MLC score in CricketStudio's corpus is 155 by MJ Owen (2023–2026 seasons). Source: Cricsheet ball-by-ball, SETU snapshot.
Explore more MLC data
data/_season-stats-mlc.json) aggregated from Cricsheet ball-by-ball data (cricsheet.org, CC BY 3.0). Parity contracts P1–P6 ensure every figure on this page agrees byte-for-byte with every other CricketStudio MLC surface. Computation timestamp: 2026-08-13T20:28:54.751Z. Report URL: https://players.cricketstudio.ai/research/state-of-mlc-2026