MI London's opening night in The Hundred ended in a seven-wicket victory over Sunrisers at the Kia Oval, but it required a significant recovery from a difficult position in the opening ten deliveries of their chase. Set 144 to win, MI London lost two wickets inside the first two overs and found themselves at 8 for 2, before a composed partnership and a devastating final burst secured the match with 16 balls remaining.
Top Order Undone Early
MI London sent out James Vince and Will Jacks to open against Brydon Carse, who immediately put the innings under pressure. Jacks lasted just three deliveries, caught by Benny Howell at cover after being beaten by a delivery that angled in before seaming away. Jason Roy, coming in on his 36th birthday, lasted two balls before edging to Mitchell Marsh at slip, dismissed for a duck.
Those twin failures left MI London at 8 for 2, with the chase effectively resting on Vince and the incoming Sam Curran. The required rate had climbed, and Sunrisers' bowlers — particularly Carse, who had bowled ten consecutive deliveries at the start of the innings — were in full control.
Curran Holds the Innings Together
Sam Curran's contribution was defined not by aggression alone but by the ability to weather the storm when MI London were most exposed. He and Vince rebuilt carefully, rotating the strike and picking off boundaries when the opportunity arose. Curran hit two fours in the first ten balls he faced and continued to find the boundary at key moments — notably lifting Abrar Ahmed for a six over straight midwicket when the spinner was threatening, and launching Potts over wide long on for another maximum during the partnership's most dominant phase.
Vince eventually fell for 17 off 18 balls — bowled by Nathan Ellis, who nipped a delivery in off a length from outside off stump to disturb the stumps — leaving the total at 51 for 3 after 44 deliveries. At that point, MI London still needed 93 from 56 balls, and it was Curran who would provide the platform alongside Pooran for the match-winning stand.
The Winning Partnership
The unbroken fourth-wicket stand between Curran and Nicholas Pooran was worth 93 runs from 40 deliveries. Curran's role shifted through that period, at times taking singles to keep Pooran on strike, at others striking boundaries of his own to ensure the required rate never became unmanageable. His fifty came up off 34 deliveries, a knock described in commentary as a proper captain's innings.
Curran finished unbeaten on 60 from 39 balls, with five fours and two sixes, his highest contribution coming across the middle and final phases of the innings. He had come to the crease at the fall of the second wicket with 136 still needed from 90 deliveries, and remained until the chase was complete. The final winning hit came from Pooran, but Curran's accumulated 60 not out ensured that MI London were always capable of winning from the moment the partnership was established.
In the field, MI London's bowling contributions are not detailed in the available source commentary for this match, which focused on MI London's chase. What is clear from the batting record is that MI London's recovery from 8 for 2 to 144 for 3 in 74 balls represented a composed and controlled team performance, anchored by their captain.