120/4 (17.0)
CR : 7.06
118/8 (20.0)
CR : 5.90
Oval Invincibles won by 6 wickets π
Player of the Match
Sam Curran
2/2835(18)
Over 17
Oval Invincibles 120/4
Donovan Ferreira8(3)
Jordan Cox46(29)
Akeal Hosein1-37(15 b)
OI won by 6 wickets
2:06 AM IST, 9:36 PM Local Time: A dominant performance from Oval Invincibles as they thrash the Southern Brave by 6 wickets with 15 balls to spare. The defending champions show their class and move to the top of the points table with this win. Southern Brave are in second place and played well in patches, but were not good enough to get the win.
Chasing 119 for the win off 100 balls on a tricky surface, Oval Invincibles lost Will Jacks early. Dawid Malan struggled his way for his 14 off 31 balls. Jordan Cox was the star with his 46* off 29 balls. Sam Curran chipped in with 35 off 18 balls. Donovan Ferreira hit the winning runs and remained unbeaten on 8* off 3 balls. 6 extras given by the fielding side as the target was achieved in 85 balls.
Southern Brave did not get enough wickets at regular intervals. A wicket apiece for Craig Overton, Tymal Mills, Chris Jordan and Akeal Hosein who was very expensive tonight.
Earlier in the game, Southern Brave were asked to bat first by the home team Oval Invincibles. The Brave lost Alex Davies early. They lost wickets at regular intervals and were reduced to 31/4 at one stage. Captain James Vince held the innings together and scored 52 off 39 balls. Kieron Pollard chipped in with 18 off 15 balls. Chris Jordan scored 12 off 6 balls while Jofra Archer scored 10 off 6 balls. 8 extras in the form of wides given by the fielding side as they ended with 118/8 in 100 balls.
For the Oval Invincibles, Tom Curran was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/24 in 20 balls. He was ably supported by younger brother Sam Curran who finished with 2/28 in 20 balls. A wicket apiece for Will Jacks and Adam Zampa who was a tad expensive as well.
So, Oval Invincibles win by 6 wickets with 15 balls to spare to move to the top of the points table.
Chasing 119 for the win off 100 balls on a tricky surface, Oval Invincibles lost Will Jacks early. Dawid Malan struggled his way for his 14 off 31 balls. Jordan Cox was the star with his 46* off 29 balls. Sam Curran chipped in with 35 off 18 balls. Donovan Ferreira hit the winning runs and remained unbeaten on 8* off 3 balls. 6 extras given by the fielding side as the target was achieved in 85 balls.
Southern Brave did not get enough wickets at regular intervals. A wicket apiece for Craig Overton, Tymal Mills, Chris Jordan and Akeal Hosein who was very expensive tonight.
Earlier in the game, Southern Brave were asked to bat first by the home team Oval Invincibles. The Brave lost Alex Davies early. They lost wickets at regular intervals and were reduced to 31/4 at one stage. Captain James Vince held the innings together and scored 52 off 39 balls. Kieron Pollard chipped in with 18 off 15 balls. Chris Jordan scored 12 off 6 balls while Jofra Archer scored 10 off 6 balls. 8 extras in the form of wides given by the fielding side as they ended with 118/8 in 100 balls.
For the Oval Invincibles, Tom Curran was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/24 in 20 balls. He was ably supported by younger brother Sam Curran who finished with 2/28 in 20 balls. A wicket apiece for Will Jacks and Adam Zampa who was a tad expensive as well.
So, Oval Invincibles win by 6 wickets with 15 balls to spare to move to the top of the points table.
MATCH HERO: Sam Curran
Sam Curran (Player of the Match for the third time in a row): "Huge two points for us. Two in-form teams at the moment, we knew we had to win this game. The final at the Lord's, that's all we are focusing on.
I think that is why we bowled first. With the rain around and overcast conditions, we wanted to take advantage of it.
I think it is. At the top of the order, you need to take risks. That is why Jacks took on the attack right from ball one. Jordan Cox batted well, too. He played well to anchor the innings.
I'm really happy with this win. I'm really enjoying the environment and the roles. Being an all-rounder, you get thrown around. I can come in at 4, 5, or 6 and be adaptable.
I am flexible, but I also like to be structured. This team has it right. I love my batting. When I bat well, I have confidence in my bowling.
As I said, each player is taking responsibility to get us over the line. Jordan Cox had an operation a couple of weeks ago. He is still not fully ready, but credit goes to him for the way he batted tonight. He is a class player, really pleased for him. We are taking one game at a time."
I think that is why we bowled first. With the rain around and overcast conditions, we wanted to take advantage of it.
I think it is. At the top of the order, you need to take risks. That is why Jacks took on the attack right from ball one. Jordan Cox batted well, too. He played well to anchor the innings.
I'm really happy with this win. I'm really enjoying the environment and the roles. Being an all-rounder, you get thrown around. I can come in at 4, 5, or 6 and be adaptable.
I am flexible, but I also like to be structured. This team has it right. I love my batting. When I bat well, I have confidence in my bowling.
As I said, each player is taking responsibility to get us over the line. Jordan Cox had an operation a couple of weeks ago. He is still not fully ready, but credit goes to him for the way he batted tonight. He is a class player, really pleased for him. We are taking one game at a time."
Sam Billings (Oval Invincibles Captain): "Jordan Cox needed a bit of form coming back from injury. Heβll take a lot of confidence in scoring against some high-quality bowlers.
Sam Curran is playing with great clarity at the moment. He is playing brilliantly with that short side; we wanted to keep the left-hand, right-hand combination. We knew they would have to bowl Akeal Hosein at some point, and we were ready for it. That shot over the off side from Curran for the six came from the toe end of the bat. Normally, an out of form batter would hit a shot like that would fall inside the 30-yard circle. That is what form does to you.
It's a huge plus to see these quality performances again. Southern Brave are a quality bowling side, so this performance will be key for us. These last two games, where we didn't have everything go our way but managed to get over the line, will give us a lot of confidence."
Sam Curran is playing with great clarity at the moment. He is playing brilliantly with that short side; we wanted to keep the left-hand, right-hand combination. We knew they would have to bowl Akeal Hosein at some point, and we were ready for it. That shot over the off side from Curran for the six came from the toe end of the bat. Normally, an out of form batter would hit a shot like that would fall inside the 30-yard circle. That is what form does to you.
It's a huge plus to see these quality performances again. Southern Brave are a quality bowling side, so this performance will be key for us. These last two games, where we didn't have everything go our way but managed to get over the line, will give us a lot of confidence."
That's it from the coverage of this game. We will be back tomorrow for more cricketing actions across the world and across formats in our network. For now, this is Ayan Chatterjee signing off on behalf of my co-commentators AkshayaKrishna Polya and Deepak Prakash alongside scorer/analyst Paras Yadav. Stay safe, happy, and cool. Goodnight and CHEERS!