Three batsmen scored centuries in the same men’s T20 match for the first time as the Washington Freedom completed the longest run in T20 history, beating defending champions MI New York by six wickets in Eliminator 1 of the MLC 2026 at the Oakland Coliseum on Tuesday.Nicholas Pooran, Andries Gous and Steven Smith all reached three figures in the match which also set several T20 records. While Pooran smashed a 31-ball hundred – the fastest century in the history of Major League Cricket – Gous and Smith responded with 40 balls each as the Freedom chased down 267 to seal a place in Eliminator 2, where they will face the San Francisco Unicorns. The winners will face the LA Knight Riders in the MLC 2026 final.For most of the evening, MI New York looked set to win after Pooran and Kieron Pollard dominated the Freedom attack. Pollard also crossed 1,000 sixes in T20 cricket in his 25-ball 64, while Pooran jumped into the bowling and put his side in complete control.The game, however, turned behind Rachin Ravindra with the ball. It came to light when MI New York were 211 for 3 after 13 overs, Ravindra returned figures of 4 for 28 despite playing the 14th, 16th, 18th and 20th balls. His wickets slowed down the scoring as MI New York finished at 266 for 9 instead of posting a bigger total.Washington Freedom’s run got off to a good start when Shakib Al Hasan struck twice with the new ball in his first two overs, reducing them to 10 for 2. From there, Gous and Smith took over.The pair matched each other shot to shot, adding 241 runs for the third wicket in just 89 balls, the second highest partnership for any wicket in men’s T20 cricket. Both reached centuries in 40 balls.Freedom eventually finished with 267, the highest run in T20 history, surpassing Punjab Kings’ 265 against Delhi Capitals in the IPL earlier this year.The match also became the first men’s T20 match to reach three centuries. Gous and Smith’s hundreds of runs became the second of two batsmen to score centuries in runs in T20 matches. Pooran and Smith also became the only two captains to score hundreds in a single T20 men’s match.