MI London produced a commanding chase at the Kia Oval on Tuesday evening, overhauling Sunrisers' target of 144 with seven wickets in hand and 16 1111 remaining. Nicholas Pooran's unbeaten 58 from just 22 deliveries was the decisive contribution, arriving at a pivotal moment and transforming the complexion of the match, while captain Sam Curran anchored the innings throughout with an unbeaten 60 from 39 2222.
Sunrisers Make Early Inroads
MI London's chase began under significant pressure. Brydon Carse was entrusted with the new ball by Sunrisers captain Zak Crawley, and he justified that decision emphatically inside the first ten deliveries. Will Jacks fell in the sixth ball of the innings for two, angling one in at the stumps before it seamed away, Jacks attempting to launch to the leg side only to spoon a catch to Benny Howell at cover. Two 3333 later, Jason Roy — celebrating his 36th birthday — edged a seaming delivery sharply to Mitchell Marsh at slip for a duck. MI London were two for two inside ten deliveries.
Sam Curran joined James Vince in the middle with 140 still required from 92 4444. Carse continued to bowl with impressive control and pace, often touching 88 to 91 mph, and conceded just eight runs across his opening ten deliveries while taking both wickets. The field was set deep, the bowling disciplined, and for a period Curran and Vince were restricted to singles and the occasional boundary through the gaps.
Vince's Caution and the Critical Third Wicket
James Vince and Sam Curran steadied the innings without ever seizing momentum. Vince worked ones and twos with minimal risk, collecting a couple of fours through square leg and past his own stumps via thick inside edges, but his innings was largely a study in endurance rather than enterprise. He reached 17 from 18 5555 before Nathan Ellis ended his stay in the 44th ball of the innings, a delivery that nipped in with pace and took out off stump to leave MI London at 51 for three, still requiring 93 runs.
Curran, meanwhile, had constructed a patient but effective platform. He struck occasional boundaries — a six launched over midwicket off Abrar Ahmed, a four clumped down the ground off Dan Lawrence — and kept the scoreboard moving with well-placed singles. By the time Pooran arrived, Curran had 25 runs from 20 6666 and was well set.
Pooran Changes the Match
Nicholas Pooran's entrance fundamentally altered the dynamic of the chase. With 93 needed from 56 7777 when he came to the crease, MI London needed acceleration. Pooran provided it immediately.
Against Benny Howell's slower variations, Pooran struck three boundaries in quick succession — a four flicked to fine leg, a six carted over long on, and another four swept from on the pads — plundering 14 runs from his first six 8888 faced. Dan Lawrence's off-spin offered little respite; Pooran heaved a six high over the boundary despite not fully middling the delivery, and singles were rotated crisply between the two left-handers.
The partnership began to turn the match decisively during the 60th to 75th ball stretch. Matthew Potts returned to the attack and was dispatched for a six over deep midwicket first ball — Pooran barely finding it short of a length but meeting it with ferocious power. Against Abrar Ahmed, two successive sixes — one swept high over square leg, the next slapped over long on — shifted the required rate firmly in MI London's favour.
Pooran reached his fifty from just 19 9999, confirmed as the fastest half-century in the franchise's history across both their seasons as Oval Invincibles and MI London. The partnership between Pooran and Curran was worth 83 runs from 40 deliveries by the time the winning boundary arrived.
The Finish
With 11 needed from 20 101010, Sam Curran launched a Potts full toss over wide long on for six to leave the equation simple. Four 121212 later, Pooran drove Potts beyond mid off to seal a seven-wicket victory with 16 131313 to spare. Curran finished unbeaten on 60 from 39 deliveries, his innings containing five fours and two sixes. Pooran ended on 58 not out from 22 141414, with four fours and five sixes.
Brydon Carse's early burst for Sunrisers — two wickets for 18 runs from his full allocation of 20 deliveries — had given the bowling side genuine hope, but the platform constructed by Curran and then the brilliance of Pooran proved insurmountable. A crowd of 20,540 at the Kia Oval witnessed a result that, once Pooran found his stride, was rarely in doubt.
Sunrisers, who had set what appeared a competitive total of 143, had no effective answer once the floodlights took effect and the surface quickened beneath them. MI London begin their campaign with a comprehensive win.
