Rushil Ugarkar played a huge part in USA's historic 243-run win over UAE in their ICC Cricket World Cup League Two League fixture in Dubai on Monday (November 3). The 22-year-old pacer ended with figures of 5-22 as UAE were shot out for just 49 in 22.1 overs. Ugarkar along with senior pacer Saurabh Netravalkar wrecked havoc as UAE's batters were sent packing.
4️⃣ Rushil Ugarkar delivers MINY to victory in the 2025 MLC Championship final
— Cognizant Major League Cricket (@MLCricket) October 31, 2025
🧵: 4/7 pic.twitter.com/9snbIDjhi7
As many as seven UAE batters fell in the first ten overs itself as Ugarkar produced his career-best performance in USA colours. It is the continuation of an excellent year for Ugarkar whose last-over heroics with the ball got MI New York to their second MLC title. Months before that, Ugarkar has also been part of the Mumbai Indians squad in the IPL as a net bowler.
Ugarkar spent quality time with veteran Rohit Sharma and had revealed how the former Indian captain had given him priceless information on decoding batters at the highest levels. The stint with the five-time IPL champions certainly proved to be significant to Ugarkar's growth as he endured a superb MLC season this year.
With Washington Freedom needing 12 to win off the final over to clinch the MLC title, Ugarkar held his nerve and conceded just five runs to bowl MI New York to their second title. While Ugarkar was born in USA, his family later moved to Bengaluru where he pursued the formative years of his cricketing career.
Later, Ugarkar's decision to take up cricket as a full-time profession saw him make the move to USA, like many other Asian cricketers in recent years. He immediately impressed in Minor League Cricket and Major League Cricket, making a name for himself as a potent pacer with a bag of tricks.
Pace, however, wasn't his biggest strength initially but Ugarkar worked extremely hard on his physique and that helped him to get the pace levels from mid-120 kph to mid-130 kph. It made a world of difference to his game and ensured that his slower deliveries were far more effective.
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Ugarkar ended MLC 2025 with 11 wickets from eight games at an economy of 8.98 runs per over. Given that he bowled mostly in the powerplay and the death, these were excellent numbers. Fittingly, he capped off the season with a title-clinching final over. On November 3, Ugarkar played a vital part in USA's record-breaking win and cemented himself as a vital element of the pace attack.
