Nicholas Pooran produced one of the most explosive innings of the early Hundred campaign to carry MI London to a commanding seven-wicket victory over Sunrisers at the Kia Oval on Sunday evening. Chasing a target of 144, MI London reached their goal with 16 111111 remaining, with Pooran finishing unbeaten on 58 from just 22 deliveries — an innings that left a crowd of 20,540 in little doubt about the result from the moment he began to connect.
A Testing Start for MI London
The innings did not begin smoothly. Sunrisers bowler Brydon Carse made an immediate impact, removing Will Jacks for 2 in the sixth ball of the chase when the batter attempted to work a delivery to the leg side but was beaten by late movement, spooning a catch to Benny Howell at cover. Two 2222222 later, Jason Roy — playing on his 36th birthday — was caught at slip by Mitchell Marsh for a duck, edging a delivery that seamed sharply away from Carse. MI London were 8 for 2 after ten 33333333, with 136 still required.
Carse's opening burst was exceptional. He bowled ten of the first twenty 4444444 of the chase and conceded just eight runs in that spell, finishing with figures of 2 for 18 from his allocation of 20 555555. His ability to generate pace, seam movement and bounce from a good length kept MI London's top order honest throughout the first half of the chase.
Vince and Curran Steady the Innings
James Vince joined Sam Curran at the crease and the pair set about rebuilding. Neither batter found the conditions entirely comfortable — the pitch was described in the post-match comments as slow initially — but they accumulated steadily, rotating the strike against a varied Sunrisers attack that also included Nathan Ellis, Matthew Potts, Abrar Ahmed, Benny Howell, and Dan Lawrence.
Curran was the more assertive of the two during the rebuilding phase, finding the boundary with a pulled four off Potts and a six launched over midwicket off Abrar Ahmed. Vince, meanwhile, struggled to find his timing with any consistency, spending 18 6666666 for 17 runs before Nathan Ellis ended his stay. Ellis produced back-to-back sharp deliveries: one that cut through Vince on the penultimate ball of the sequence, and then a ball that nipped in with pace to take out off stump, leaving Vince bowled for 17. MI London were 51 for 3 after 44 deliveries.
Pooran Changes the Complexion
Pooran arrived at the crease with MI London requiring 93 from 56 7777777 — a rate that was testing but achievable. What followed was a display of controlled, devastating hitting. He scored 37 from his first 15 888 in partnership with Curran, targeting the slower bowlers with particular ferocity. Off Benny Howell, he struck four, six, and four in successive deliveries — a fine-leg sweep, a straight hit over long on, and a drop-on-one-knee slog sweep, the last of those bringing Pooran's boundary count to three in the over. Against Dan Lawrence's off-spin, he launched a six high over the boundary sponge that commentators noted barely cleared the rope.
The 50-run partnership between Pooran and Curran came from just 23 deliveries. Off Abrar Ahmed, Pooran struck two sixes in consecutive 9999 — one swept over square leg, one slapped over long on — to move into the forties. A single off Ellis took him to a 19-ball fifty, recorded as the fastest fifty in this franchise's history, encompassing both their current identity as MI London and their previous iteration as Oval Invincibles.
Curran, for his part, was equally impressive. He moved to his own fifty from 34 deliveries — described at the time as a proper captain's knock — with a skied hit beyond point off Abrar Ahmed bringing up the milestone. He followed that with a six off Potts, launching a full toss over wide long on, before Pooran wrapped up the chase. Off the fourth ball of the 84th over, Potts pitched full outside off, and Pooran launched it beyond mid off's reach to seal a seven-wicket win with 16 12122 remaining. Curran finished unbeaten on 60 from 39 32323.
Sunrisers' Earlier Momentum Undone
The result was all the more notable given that Sunrisers had appeared to build meaningful momentum with the ball in the first half of MI London's chase. Carse's 2 for 18 and Ellis's 1 for 22 from their respective 20-ball allocations had Sunrisers in contention entering the second half. The slower bowlers — Howell, Lawrence, and Abrar — were introduced to maintain pressure, but Pooran and Curran negotiated and then attacked each of them in turn. Once the floodlights came on at the Kia Oval, the ball began to slide through more freely, and that transition, as Pooran noted afterwards, was the moment MI London shifted from conservation to attack.
Pooran was named the Meerkat Match Hero for his 58 not out from 22 12121, with four fours and five sixes. Sam Curran's 60 not out from 39 2323 was equally significant to the outcome. The pair added an unbroken 93 from 40 deliveries for the fourth wicket. For Sunrisers, Carse's early burst had offered a route back into the contest, but the inability of the bowling attack to sustain pressure once Pooran found his range ultimately proved decisive. MI London begin their Hundred campaign with a seven-wicket win.
