PROVIDENCE, Guyana, July 26, 2026: Hammad Azam walked into a San Francisco Unicorns innings that was beginning to fall apart and left with an unbeaten 64, a Player of the Match award, and a five-run victory that looked highly unlikely halfway through the first innings.
San Francisco recovered from 69 for 6 after 10 overs to reach 152 for 8 before Ghulam Mudassar returned 4 for 32 to restrict Perth Scorchers XI to 147 for 9 in the fifth match of the Global Super League 2026.
The scoreline tells you it was close. It does not quite explain how many times the match appeared to change hands.
San Francisco had already suffered a tight defeat against Guyana Amazon Warriors earlier in the tournament, while Perth had opened their campaign with defeat against Lahore Qalandars. That made this meeting much more than another early round-robin game.
Story at a glance
San Francisco Unicorns vs Perth Scorchers: Match Summary
The result and scorecard are also recorded by the Global Super League and in the full match scorecard.
Hammad Azam Turns 69 for 6 Into a Defendable Total
The first 10 overs belonged largely to Perth.
Perth’s Spinners Had Already Done Enough to Win Most Games
Perth’s bowling performance deserves more credit than the result alone provides.
Ghulam Mudassar Makes 153 Feel Much Bigger
Perth needed 153 and immediately lost Andre Fletcher for one when Ghulam Mudassar struck in the opening over.
Why This Win Mattered for San Francisco
The victory moved San Francisco to one win and one defeat and stopped their tournament from becoming an early uphill climb.
San Francisco Unicorns vs Perth Scorchers: Match Summary
| Match | Details |
|---|---|
| Competition | Global Super League 2026, Match 5 |
| Venue | Providence Stadium, Guyana |
| San Francisco Unicorns | 152/8 in 20 overs |
| Perth Scorchers XI | 147/9 in 20 overs |
| Result | San Francisco Unicorns won by 5 runs |
| Player of the Match | Hammad Azam, 64 not out from 46 balls |
| Best bowling | Ghulam Mudassar, 4/32 |
The result and scorecard are also recorded by the Global Super League and in the full match scorecard.
Hammad Azam Turns 69 for 6 Into a Defendable Total
The first 10 overs belonged largely to Perth.
Tim Robinson and Connor Esterhuizen had given San Francisco a useful start by putting on 42 for the first wicket, but the innings unraveled rapidly once Perth found a way through.
Esterhuizen fell for 21 from 12 balls. Sanjay Krishnamurthi made one. Oliver Peake was dismissed for a duck. Captain Hassan Khan was run out for one, and Robinson followed for 24.
Fabian Allen’s dismissal left San Francisco at 69 for 6 after exactly 10 overs.
Hammad Azam was only 12 at the strategic timeout.
That detail matters because what followed changed the game.
San Francisco scored another 83 runs in the final 10 overs. Hammad contributed 52 of those himself, meaning he supplied nearly 63% of San Francisco’s runs during the recovery.
His unbeaten 64 came from 46 balls and included four fours and five sixes. He did not simply survive the collapse. He eventually forced Perth to defend against a total that had looked out of reach when San Francisco lost six wickets inside the first half of the innings.
Anirudh Immanuel Gives Hammad the Partnership He Needed
Anirudh Immanuel’s 17 from 13 balls will disappear quickly in a conventional score summary, but his partnership with Hammad was one of the innings’ critical phases.
The pair added 39 after San Francisco had slipped to 69 for 6. That partnership gave Hammad enough time to move from damage control toward calculated aggression.
After Immanuel departed at 108 for 7 and Callum Stow fell at 118 for 8, Peter Siddle stayed with Hammad through the final three overs.
The pair added an unbeaten 34 from 18 balls. Hammad supplied 26 of those runs.
That final stand pushed the Unicorns from a vulnerable 118 for 8 to 152 for 8.
Perth’s Spinners Had Already Done Enough to Win Most Games
Perth’s bowling performance deserves more credit than the result alone provides.
Sufyan Moqim took 3 for 21 from four overs and Ashton Agar conceded only 20 without taking a wicket. Brody Couch claimed three wickets, although his four overs cost 49.
Between them, Perth repeatedly interrupted San Francisco’s attempts to build partnerships.
At 46 for 4 inside six overs and then 69 for 6 at halfway, Perth had created exactly the type of position from which a T20 side expects to control the rest of the match.
Hammad changed that equation almost single-handedly.
Ghulam Mudassar Makes 153 Feel Much Bigger
Perth needed 153 and immediately lost Andre Fletcher for one when Ghulam Mudassar struck in the opening over.
Joel Curtis countered with 16 from 13, but Mudassar removed him as well. Peter Siddle then dismissed Dian Forrester for a seven-ball duck.
Perth were 37 for 3 after the powerplay and 66 for 4 after 10 overs.
D’Arcy Short kept the chase alive with 43 from 38 balls, but Perth could not find a second batter capable of staying long enough with him.
Usman Khan made 14, Ashton Turner 13 and Ashton Agar four. When Short was bowled by Siddle at 103 for 7 in the 16th over, San Francisco appeared to have broken the chase.
Akeal Hosein and Brody Couch Refuse to Let the Match Die
Perth still had another counterattack left.
Akeal Hosein hit 19 from 12 balls with two sixes, while Couch produced 23 not out from only 12 deliveries.
The Scorchers entered the final stages with the required rate climbing but continued finding boundaries.
Mudassar, however, kept taking wickets at exactly the moments Perth threatened to turn the chase.
He dismissed Fletcher, Curtis, Jhye Richardson and eventually Hosein to finish with 4 for 32, including a maiden.
Perth reached 146 for 9 when Hosein fell with one ball remaining. Sufyan Moqim could manage only a single from the last delivery, leaving the Scorchers five runs short at 147 for 9.
The Three Turning Points That Decided the Match
1. Hammad Survives the Collapse
San Francisco lost four wickets between 42 and 46, then two more before reaching 70. Hammad’s refusal to follow the procession gave the innings somewhere to rebuild from.
2. The Final Three Overs Add 34 Runs
At 118 for 8 after 17 overs, even 140 was not guaranteed. Hammad and Siddle took San Francisco to 152 without losing another wicket. In a match decided by five runs, those final three overs were enormous.
3. Mudassar Breaks Perth’s Late Charge
Hosein and Couch gave Perth a genuine chance at the death. Mudassar’s fourth wicket, removing Hosein at 146 for 9 with one delivery remaining, effectively ended the comeback.
Why This Win Mattered for San Francisco
The victory moved San Francisco to one win and one defeat and stopped their tournament from becoming an early uphill climb.
It also revealed a quality that became increasingly important later in their GSL campaign: they could win without everything going according to plan.
That resilience would be tested again when Desert Vipers beat the Unicorns, and the tournament remained unpredictable enough for Perth and Desert Vipers to produce another final-over thriller.
Perth later found their own breakthrough against Guyana Amazon Warriors, while San Francisco eventually recovered strongly enough to beat Desert Vipers in the qualifier and reach the final.
The Unicorns’ tournament ultimately ended with a narrow defeat when Guyana Amazon Warriors defended 85 in the GSL 2026 final.
Seen in that broader context, the five-run win over Perth was one of the matches that kept San Francisco’s campaign alive long enough for a run to the championship game.
Complete San Francisco Unicorns Scorecard
| Batter | Dismissal | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Robinson | c Curtis b Sufyan Moqim | 24 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 133.33 |
| Connor Esterhuizen | c Hosein b Couch | 21 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 175.00 |
| Sanjay Krishnamurthi | b Couch | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Oliver Peake | c Forrester b Couch | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Hassan Khan | run out (Sufyan Moqim/Curtis) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Hammad Azam | not out | 64 | 46 | 4 | 5 | 139.13 |
| Fabian Allen | c Couch b Sufyan Moqim | 7 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 77.77 |
| Anirudh Immanuel | c Agar b Sufyan Moqim | 17 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 130.76 |
| Callum Stow | b Hosein | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14.28 |
| Peter Siddle | not out | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 85.71 |
| Extras | lb 1, nb 1, w 8 | 10 | ||||
| Total | 20 overs | 152/8 | 7.60 RR |
Did not bat: Ghulam Mudassar
Fall of wickets: 42-1, 45-2, 45-3, 46-4, 57-5, 69-6, 108-7, 118-8.
Perth Scorchers Bowling
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akeal Hosein | 4 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 6.00 |
| Jhye Richardson | 4 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 9.25 |
| Brody Couch | 4 | 0 | 49 | 3 | 12.25 |
| Ashton Agar | 4 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 5.00 |
| Sufyan Moqim | 4 | 0 | 21 | 3 | 5.25 |
Complete Perth Scorchers XI Scorecard
| Batter | Dismissal | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andre Fletcher | b Ghulam Mudassar | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| D’Arcy Short | b Siddle | 43 | 38 | 4 | 0 | 113.15 |
| Joel Curtis | c Allen b Ghulam Mudassar | 16 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 123.07 |
| Dian Forrester | c Peake b Siddle | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Usman Khan | b Immanuel | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 116.66 |
| Ashton Turner | c sub (K Gore) b Allen | 13 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 108.33 |
| Ashton Agar | c Hassan Khan b Stow | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 57.14 |
| Akeal Hosein | c Allen b Ghulam Mudassar | 19 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 158.33 |
| Jhye Richardson | b Ghulam Mudassar | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Brody Couch | not out | 23 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 191.66 |
| Sufyan Moqim | not out | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Extras | b 4, nb 1, w 6 | 11 | ||||
| Total | 20 overs | 147/9 | 7.35 RR |
Fall of wickets: 7-1, 28-2, 29-3, 59-4, 82-5, 97-6, 103-7, 107-8, 146-9.
San Francisco Unicorns Bowling
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghulam Mudassar | 4 | 1 | 32 | 4 | 8.00 |
| Fabian Allen | 2 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 9.00 |
| Peter Siddle | 4 | 0 | 31 | 2 | 7.75 |
| Hassan Khan | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 7.50 |
| Anirudh Immanuel | 4 | 0 | 28 | 1 | 7.00 |
| Callum Stow | 4 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 4.75 |
Continue the Global Super League Story
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won San Francisco Unicorns vs Perth Scorchers in GSL 2026?
San Francisco Unicorns won by five runs after scoring 152 for 8 and restricting Perth Scorchers XI to 147 for 9.
Who was Player of the Match?
Hammad Azam was named Player of the Match after scoring an unbeaten 64 from 46 balls.
How many sixes did Hammad Azam hit?
Hammad struck five sixes and four fours during his unbeaten 64.
What were Ghulam Mudassar’s bowling figures?
Mudassar took four wickets for 32 runs from four overs, including one maiden.
Who top-scored for Perth Scorchers?
D’Arcy Short top-scored with 43 from 38 balls.
Where was the match played?
The match was played at Providence Stadium in Guyana.
What was San Francisco’s score after 10 overs?
The Unicorns were 69 for 6 after 10 overs before recovering to 152 for 8.
Who were Perth’s best bowlers?
Sufyan Moqim took 3 for 21 and Brody Couch claimed 3 for 49. Ashton Agar also bowled economically, conceding only 20 from four overs.
When was the match played?
The match was played on July 26, 2026, local time at Providence Stadium.
San Francisco Unicorns
- Tim Robinson Explodes as Unicorns Thump Vipers to Enter the Global Super League Final
- Shadab Khan and Zachary Carter Rescue Desert Vipers’ GSL Campaign
- Hammad Azam Rescues San Francisco Unicorns Before Ghulam Mudassar Seals Five-Run Win Over Perth Scorchers
- Rovman Powell, Guyana Amazon Warriors Hold Never to Beat San Francisco Unicorns in Rain-Hit GSL Chase
