Ben Dwarshuis made a remarkable late cameo to guide the Washington Freedom to a dramatic three-wicket victory over the Texas Super Kings in Major League Cricket, a result that kept his side firmly in the playoff race while eliminating the Super Kings from contention. Trailing by 166, the Washington Freedom appeared in control before suffering a dramatic collapse. They fell from 79 for 1 after eight overs to 107 for 6 in the 16th over, leaving Dwarshuis with a steep task with Obus Pienaar. With 52 runs needed from the last four overs, Dwarshuis came back into the game in spectacular fashion. He launched a counterattack in the 17th over, smashing two towering sixes as Pienaar also cleared the ropes as the pair stole 22 runs to swing the momentum. Adam Milne briefly turned on some pressure by conceding just five runs from the first five balls of the next over, but Dwarshuis capitalized on a low full toss from the final delivery, driving it to the boundary to keep Freedom on course. Although Pienaar departed in the penultimate over, Dwarshuis remained calm. With 10 needed from the end, he picked Milne’s slower delivery and hammered it straight down the ground for a crucial six before ending the chase with two balls to spare. His unbeaten 38 came from just 16 deliveries and included two fours and three sixes. Earlier, Texas Super Kings looked for a bigger total after Faf du Plessis and Saiteja Mukkamalla stitched a 93-run opening partnership in just 9.2 overs. Du Plessis top-scored with 61, while Mukkamalla contributed 47. Despite a solid foundation, the innings lost momentum as wickets fell regularly in the middle overs. The biggest loss came at the death, where Texas lost six wickets for just 33 runs, allowing Freedom to limit it to 165. Mitchell Owen, Rachin Ravindra and: Nikhil Chaudhary claimed two wickets each to cause the collapse. The Freedom chase also started positively despite the early dismissal of Mitchell Owen. Rachin Ravindra and Steve Smith added 60 runs in just 30 balls to control the asking rate early on. Akeal Hosein: the partnership is broken. That prompted a collapse in the middle order, but Dwarshuis made sure it wasn’t decisive. The win lifted the Washington Freedom to fourth place with 10 points, level with the top three teams, with net run rate separating them. The Seattle Orcas, who are sitting on eight points, must beat the table-toppers San Francisco Unicorns in their final league game to keep their playoff hopes alive. Short scores: Texas Super Kings 165 (Faf du Plessis 61, Saiteja Mukkamalla 47; Mitchell Owen 2/19, Rachin Ravindra 2/20, Nikhil Chaudhary 2/30) lost to Washington Freedom 166/7 in 19.4 overs (Steve Smith 46, Ben Dwarse*in 2/38*in 2 Forrester 2/28) by three wickets.