MI London's first match of the Hundred season did not begin smoothly. Two wickets had fallen inside ten deliveries, the target of 144 still loomed large, and Brydon Carse was extracting sharp movement at 88 to 90 miles per hour from the Kia Oval surface. What followed over the next 74 balls was a methodical and ultimately dominant chase that ended in a seven-wicket win with 16 deliveries unused.
A Difficult Start
Will Jacks was the first to go, dismissed for 2 in the sixth ball of the innings. Carse angled a delivery into the stumps before it seamed away; Jacks attempted to launch it to the leg side but was beaten by the movement and spooned the ball to Benny Howell at cover.
Jason Roy, who walked out to bat on his 36th birthday, lasted just two balls. A delivery that carried pace and seam away from Roy found a thick outside edge, which Mitchell Marsh held cleanly at slip.MI London were 8 for 2 with 136 still required from 90 balls. The run rate was not yet critical, but losing two recognised top-order batters so early placed immediate pressure on those coming in.
Vince and Curran Provide Stability
Sam Curran, the MI London captain, joined James Vince and the pair set about rebuilding without panic.
The commentary described Curran working the ball intelligently and Vince finding his feet, though neither was able to dominate immediately against a disciplined Sunrisers attack. Potts was tight, conceding just 11 from his first ten balls. Carse returned and was similarly economical.Vince made 17 from 18 balls before Nathan Ellis bowled him, a delivery that nipped back sharply off a length to hit off stump. At 51 for 3 after 44 balls, MI London still needed 93 from 56, and the game remained in the balance.
Pooran Changes the Match
The arrival of Nicholas Pooran transformed the chase entirely.
Pooran came to the crease and took strike against the slower bowlers with a clear intent. He hit Benny Howell for a four and a six in the same set of balls, then hit Dan Lawrence over the boundary before continuing to punish Abrar Ahmed with two consecutive sixes. The rate at which he scored changed the equation from a demanding ask to a comfortable run home.Curran, meanwhile, continued to build his innings at the other end. Once he passed fifty from 34 balls — a knock the commentary described as a proper captain's innings — the partnership with Pooran had taken full control.
The two left-handers accumulated 37 from just 16 deliveries between the 55th and 70th ball of the innings, at which point Sunrisers had no answer.The Partnership That Settled It
Pooran reached fifty from 19 balls, the fastest in the franchise's history. He and Curran added their partnership in 40 balls between them. The commentary noted that MI London were just ahead on win predictors at the strategic timeout when 56 were needed from 40, and from there the game progressed almost entirely in the batting side's favour.
Sam Curran finished unbeaten on 60 from 39 balls, striking five fours and two sixes. Pooran finished on 58 not out from 22 balls, with four fours and five sixes. The winning hit came when Pooran launched Potts beyond mid off to finish the match three balls into the 15th set of five.
MI London had turned a match that appeared difficult at 8 for 2 into a comprehensive opening-night victory at the Kia Oval. The late hitting partnership between their captain and their designated finisher, combined with the foundation laid during the middle period by Vince and Curran, provided the full shape of how the chase was won.
