MI London began their Hundred campaign at the Kia Oval in the worst possible fashion with the bat, losing two wickets inside the first ten deliveries of their chase. By the time the match ended, they had completed a seven-wicket win with 16 balls to spare, chasing down 144 with authority. The recovery was built on the foundations of calm batting under pressure from Sam Curran and then accelerated by one of the most destructive innings of the Hundred season so far from Nicholas Pooran.
Early Wickets Put MI on the Back Foot
Will Jacks and Jason Roy were the two openers entrusted with starting MI London's chase. Neither survived long. Jacks fell for 2 off 3 balls, caught at cover off Brydon Carse after being beaten by a delivery that seamed away after pitching on the stumps. Roy, batting on his 36th birthday, lasted just two deliveries after that, edging Carse to slip for a duck. MI London were 8 for 2 with 136 still needed from 90 balls.
James Vince and Sam Curran assumed responsibility for rescuing the innings. Their approach was measured rather than aggressive — neither attempted to immediately counter-attack — and they absorbed the pressure from a disciplined Sunrisers attack through the middle portion of the innings. Vince contributed 17 from 18 balls before Nathan Ellis removed him, his off stump disturbed by a delivery that nipped in sharply. His dismissal left MI London at 51 for 3 after 44 deliveries.
Curran Anchors, Pooran Explodes
Curran had already begun to accelerate by the time Pooran arrived. He struck a six over midwicket off Abrar Ahmed in the 37th ball to move past his own half-century, and his innings evolved from a cautious platform-builder into a genuinely aggressive knock as the game progressed. He finished on 60 not out from 39 balls, striking five fours and two sixes — described at one point during commentary as a "proper captain's knock".
Pooran's arrival changed the pace of the chase entirely. He began striking boundaries from his first few deliveries and reached his fifty off just 19 balls — the fastest in the history of the franchise across both its iterations as Oval Invincibles and MI London. Against Benny Howell, he took three boundaries from four balls. Against Dan Lawrence, he hit a six off a length ball that barely reached the boundary. Against Abrar Ahmed, he struck back-to-back sixes — a swept six over square leg followed immediately by a hit over long on.
The partnership between Curran and Pooran was worth 93 runs from 40 balls across the second half of the innings, and it came at a time when Sunrisers needed wickets urgently. Instead, the two left-handers dismantled what had been a disciplined bowling performance in the earlier overs.
Finishing the Job
With 11 needed from the final 20 balls, Curran launched a Potts full toss over wide long on for six, bringing the requirement down sharply. Pooran then drove the winning boundary through the off side, finishing unbeaten on 58 from 22 balls. The win — by seven wickets with 16 balls remaining — represented a strong opening statement for the franchise, particularly given how precarious their position had been after those opening ten deliveries.
The crowd of 20,540 at the Kia Oval witnessed a performance that showed MI London's depth in batting: the ability to absorb pressure through Vince and Curran before deploying the kind of explosive hitting Pooran had already demonstrated in T20 cricket elsewhere this summer.
