Pooran's 58* fires MI London to seven-wicket win over Sunrisers at Kia Oval
Nicholas Pooran walked in at 51 for 3 after 44 deliveries with MI London still needing 93 runs from 56 balls to overhaul a target of 144. What followed was a controlled, often explosive, partnership with captain Sam Curran that settled every doubt and delivered a seven-wicket victory with 16 balls to spare in front of 20,540 spectators at the Kia Oval.
Sunrisers Strike Early Through Carse
Sunrisers made the perfect start with the ball. Brydon Carse, bowling with consistent pace and movement, removed Will Jacks in the sixth delivery of the innings — the ball angling in before seaming away, with Jacks attempting to heave to the leg side and spooning a catch to Benny Howell at cover. Jacks departed for 2 from 3 balls. Two deliveries later, on Jason Roy's 36th birthday, Carse produced an outstanding delivery that seamed away from the right-hander, drawing a thick edge that Mitchell Marsh took sharply at slip. Roy was gone for a duck. MI London were 8 for 2 inside five overs.
Carse finished his opening spell of ten consecutive balls with 2 for 8, a relentlessly disciplined effort that left MI London in early trouble. Matthew Potts bowled a maiden-heavy spell at the other end, keeping Sam Curran — who came in at number three — scoreless through his first four deliveries before the MI skipper finally found the boundary through backward point in the tenth over.
Vince and Curran Weather the Storm
James Vince joined Curran and the pair ground through a difficult phase against tight bowling. Vince, batting without fluency for much of his stay, managed boundaries through fortune as much as design — a thick inside edge past his stumps off Potts in the 29th ball brought four runs, and a leg-bye glanced fine off Nathan Ellis contributed a further four. Curran, more assured, drove and pulled selectively, reaching 25 from 20 balls by the halfway mark of the innings.
Nathan Ellis dismissed Vince in the 44th ball of the chase. Having beaten the outside edge of the MI vice-captain with a delivery that nipped in off a length, Ellis followed it up with a near-identical ball that took out off stump. Vince departed for 17 from 18 balls, bowled, and MI London required 92 from 56 balls at 51 for 3. Pooran came to the crease.
Pooran Takes Control
Pooran's impact was immediate. Against Benny Howell's slower-ball variations, he struck a four over fine leg, a six over long on, and another four through fine leg in a single over — 14 runs from three Howell deliveries to announce his intentions. Dan Lawrence's off-spin offered no respite either, with Pooran depositing him over long on for six and then scampering a single to bring up the fifty partnership between himself and Curran from just 23 deliveries.
Curran, meanwhile, was matching him at the other end in different fashion. The MI skipper pulled Abrar Ahmed over straight midwicket for six, skipped down the pitch to drive Lawrence through the on side for four, and reached his fifty from 34 deliveries — a composed captain's contribution that held the innings together through the tricky middle phase when the pitch was at its slowest.
Abrar Ahmed's return spell proved costly. Curran launched him over straight midwicket for six in the 71st ball. Pooran then swept him high over square leg for six and slapped him over long on for a further six in consecutive deliveries, turning what had been a 38-from-30 equation into something far more manageable.
Pooran Reaches Fifty, MI Close Out the Chase
Pooran brought up his fifty from just 19 deliveries — the fastest half-century in the franchise's history across its previous incarnation as Oval Invincibles and the current MI London era. Ellis, bowling with a replacement ball in the final stretch, could not stop him: a full delivery on leg stump was tickled to the fine leg boundary in the 80th ball to push Pooran to 54.
With 11 needed from the final 20 balls, Potts returned for his concluding spell. Curran greeted him with a full-toss launched over wide long on for six. Then, from the 84th delivery of the innings, Pooran launched Potts beyond the reach of mid off for four to seal the match. MI London 144 for 3. Victory by seven wickets, 16 balls unused.
Pooran finished unbeaten on 58 from 22 balls — his innings containing four fours and five sixes. Curran ended on 60 not out from 39 balls, with five fours and two sixes. Together they added an unbroken 93-run partnership from 40 deliveries to overturn what had been a precarious position. For Sunrisers, Carse's 2 for 18 from 20 balls was the standout bowling performance, though it ultimately could not prevent the defeat.
