There was a moment, ten balls into MI London's Hundred chase, when the match looked to be tilting sharply away from them. Will Jacks had been pouched at cover off Brydon Carse. Jason Roy had edged behind without scoring. MI London stood at 8 for 2, needing 136 from 90 balls, with two of their top-order batters already back in the pavilion. What followed was a measured, then explosive, reconstruction that ended with a seven-wicket win and 16 balls to spare.
The Platform: Curran and Vince Under Pressure
Sam Curran, in at number three in his role as captain, and James Vince were the two batters tasked with steadying the innings through its most vulnerable phase. Carse remained on at both ends for the opening phase, bowling ten consecutive balls for Sunrisers, and the pressure he exerted was considerable — consistently 87 to 90 mph, hitting the top of off stump regularly, leaving both batters with little room to free their arms.
Curran and Vince navigated that phase carefully. Boundaries came, but not freely: a carved four through backward point, an inside edge to fine leg. The commentary noted that both batters were essentially weathering the storm rather than attempting to dominate, and Curran's approach — punching singles, using the depth of his crease — was effective in keeping the required rate manageable without taking undue risks. By the midpoint of the chase, MI London were 33 for 2, having kept the required rate below nine an over.
Vince contributed two back-to-back fours off Matthew Potts and gradually found more fluency, but his innings came to an abrupt end when Nathan Ellis bowled him through the gate for 17 off 18 balls — a delivery described in commentary as leaving him completely baffled, nipping in with pace to take out off stump. At 51 for 3 after 44 deliveries, MI still needed 93 runs.
Curran Holds the Anchor, Pooran Provides the Launch
The partnership that decided the match was the one formed by Curran and Nicholas Pooran from that point. Curran, already 25 not out when Pooran arrived, continued to play the supporting role — rotating the strike, keeping Pooran on the preferred end, occasionally unleashing his own violence when the opportunity presented itself. A six launched over straight midwicket off Abrar Ahmed was the standout of his own attacking contributions during this phase. A full toss from Potts went over wide long on for another six as MI closed in on the target.
Curran reached fifty from 34 deliveries — the commentary described it plainly as a proper captain's knock — and he finished unbeaten on 60 from 39 balls. The innings was characterised by a complete absence of rash shot selection at a time when MI London needed composure, and a willingness to accelerate once the platform was set.
Pooran's contribution, once he found his range, was of a different character entirely. From his first few circumspect deliveries he moved rapidly through the gears, hitting Howell for three boundaries in short succession, launching Lawrence over the rope, and dismantling Abrar with two sixes off back-to-back deliveries. He reached fifty from 19 balls — the fastest half-century in this franchise's history across its Oval Invincibles iterations. The fifty partnership between the two left-handers arrived in just 23 deliveries.
The Finish and the Broader Picture
The winning boundary came off the bat of Pooran in the final over, when he launched a delivery from Potts beyond the fielder at mid off to seal the result. Pooran finished unbeaten on 58 from 22 deliveries. The combined unbroken stand between the two was 93 runs from 40 balls.
For MI London, the victory — their first of the 2025 Hundred — was built on a team effort across the batting order rather than a single moment of brilliance alone. The early wickets could have triggered a collapse; instead, they prompted a disciplined response from Curran that kept MI in the match long enough for Pooran to take over. The 20,540 crowd at the Kia Oval were given a full evening's entertainment, and MI head into the rest of their campaign with momentum and a settled partnership at the heart of their batting.
