136/7 (20.0)
CR : 6.80
145/8 (20.0)
CR : 7.25
Oval Invincibles won by 9 runs
Player of the Match
Sam Billings
49(30)
19.5
1
S Curran to T Hartley
DONE. The Game is Done. Sam Curran nails a beautiful over under pressure. Full ball and Hartley advances to it and pushes it down to long-on for just a single. A massive 11 run win for the Invincibles, who follow the Women team's path and outclass the Originals here at Oval.
Over 20
Manchester Originals 136/7
Tom Hartley5(3)
Fred Klaassen3(3)
Sam Curran2-27(20 b)
An excellent bowling show by the Invincibles earns them their first victory in the very first fixture of The Hundred by 9 runs. The crowd erupts in joy and Billing and co are ecstatic as they walk off the ground.
Invincible started off on the wrong foot losing two big wickets in the powerplay. It was an innings that never really got going. The top-order just couldn't get going, losing wickets regularly, and getting reduced to 48/4. It was skipper Sam Billings who led the recovery before Tom Curran came in and smoked a few at the death to take the score to 145 in 100 balls.
Same kind of story for Originals who lost a few wickets early in the game but the skipper was there to keep them in the game. Originals kept losing wickets at regular intervals and never looking like they were in the game at any moment in the entire moment. After the dismissal, Brathwaite took charge and dealt some heavy blows along with Calvin Harrison who supported him well. With 26 required off the last 10 balls, Harrison threw his wicket away and suddenly the equation seemed way tougher for the big Caribbean. Curran bowled an excellent last over to restrict Manchester Originals to 135 and also scalped Brathwaite
Sam Billings is the Hero of the Match.
Sam Billings: Unbelievable Atmosphere!! It is the best ground to play at, few of the local Surrey lads closed the game out very well. It was 150-160 pitch but today it was on the slower side. It is all about adapting and thankfully we got enough tonight. Having Narine on our side is amazing, he has done it all over the world and for a batsman coming in, it is really difficult. I keep thinking of saving his overs and when to bowl him.
Jos Butler: Enjoyed the game. Great game, great atmosphere. I hope all the cities back their franchise in this competition. We had some injuries to deal with before putting up our XI. It certainly felt quicker. You have to make quick decisions as a captain with the change of bowler. Lovely to see all the families turning up today with some young lads.
So that's goodbye from me, Anurag, and my partner Arjun from the comm box. Do join us for the 2nd game of the group stage of The Hundred tomorrow at 11 PM. Good night and take care!!