MI London began their Hundred campaign in commanding fashion at the Kia Oval, overhauling a target of 144 against Sunrisers with seven wickets in hand and 16 deliveries remaining. The margin was a reflection of a chase that, though tested in its early overs, was ultimately settled by an exceptional partnership between Nicholas Pooran and Sam Curran.

Sunrisers Set the Target

Sunrisers posted 143, and their bowlers made every effort to defend it. Brydon Carse was the chief architect of MI London's early difficulties, removing Will Jacks and Jason Roy inside the first ten deliveries of the chase. Jacks fell for 2, spooning a catch to Benny Howell at cover after being beaten by movement off the surface. Roy, playing on his 36th birthday, contributed nothing to the scoreboard, edging to Mitchell Marsh at slip for a duck.

With MI London reduced to 8 for 2 inside the first ten deliveries, Carse had bowled each of those opening ten himself, finishing that spell with 2 for 8. James Vince joined Sam Curran in the middle, and the pair moved carefully through a testing phase in which Matthew Potts and Nathan Ellis applied consistent pressure at the other end. Vince found the scoring difficult, managing 17 from 18 deliveries before Ellis removed him, the delivery nipping in to take off stump and end a stay that had felt uncomfortable throughout.

Pooran and Curran Take Control

MI London were 51 for 3 after 44 deliveries when Nicholas Pooran arrived at the crease. What followed redefined the match. Pooran reached his fifty from just 19 deliveries — the fastest half-century in the franchise's history, encompassing their previous seasons as Oval Invincibles — and finished unbeaten on 58 from 22 deliveries, striking four boundaries and five sixes.

Curran, meanwhile, had been the steadying presence throughout. He reached his own fifty from 34 deliveries, a knock that provided the platform for Pooran's acceleration. The pair added the runs that were required in just 40 deliveries together, a partnership built on calculated aggression against the slower options Sunrisers turned to as the floodlights came on at the Kia Oval.

Pooran was particularly severe on Benny Howell and Abrar Ahmed, striking three fours and two sixes off Howell in a single sequence, then taking two sixes off consecutive deliveries from Abrar Ahmed. The West Indian later noted that conditions shifted once the lights were on, the ball sliding onto the bat more readily than it had in the early stages of the chase.

The Final Over and the Result

MI London needed 11 from the final 20 deliveries. Matthew Potts returned for his last allocation and Curran cleared wide long on with a full toss to ease the equation further. Pooran then sealed the victory with a boundary beyond mid off, finishing the match with a stroke that summarised his evening. The crowd of 20,540 at the Kia Oval witnessed a chase that had been precarious in the powerplay but was ultimately resolved with authority.

Carse's final figures read 2 for 18 from 20 deliveries — an excellent return that had placed genuine doubt over the chase early on, but Sunrisers had no answers once Pooran found his range and Curran extended his innings. MI London took the win by seven wickets.