So, that is it from myself, Karthik Raj and my co-commentator, Manan Mehta as we wrap up the coverage of this fixture. A note of thanks to our scorer, Raju Khariya as well. Do stay tuned to our coverage with a lot more cricketing action coming up on Monday!
Sam Curran (MI London Captain):"[About the performance] Really pleased. (Will Jacks) Jacksy had those knocks but just didn't have that big score. Nicky as well. Left-right suits us here while the bowling was absolutely clinical. Rashid Khan shows why he is one of the world's best. He has faced these guys so much as well, we will miss him but glad (Nathan Sowter) Sowts played today. He is going to take a big responsibility as our front-line spinner.
[Whether Rashid Khan gets even more dangerous with a big score on the board] Absolutely, honestly with a big score on the board and guys having to take him on. Took a gamble bowling against Jos Buttler as it was with the wind but he came up trumps. We will miss him. Just to win by 45 runs is really important. Feels like everyone is beating everyone which is great for the tournament.
[Coming back from injury] Obviously, missed the last game. Just thought lets get through with the batting and might bowl on Thursday. Body is a bit sore but better without bowling.
[Importance of this result] We have been champions for a few years. Wanted to come out with fire and passion. Its a big win for us going into the game against London Spirit on Thursday who beat us the last time.
[Situation regarding Ollie Pope who keeps sliding down the radar] That is the luxury of having all-rounders, we can be flexible. Popey is such a quality bowler. He could come in at 20/2. There is only 70 balls left, so my theory is that get your best Top 6 first. The cameos go under the radar but we are pretty happy with our side. Sowts goes under the radar, gun fielder as well."
Rashid Khan (POTM):"[On his good performance] Yeah it was. I needed those wickets. I had a quiet tournament this far but today I kept things simple and hit the right areas consistently and got the result.
[Did the massive first innings score help him?] Yes, it does make a difference when you have good runs on the board. However, hitting the right areas on the wicket as I said is very important. It makes it difficult for the batters to attack. So yeah, it is runs on the board and then hit the right areas. You are going to get hit in this format but more often than not the result will be right.
[On the comeback made after the opposition openers had a good start] They had a brilliant start. In the Hundred I feel a good start makes the target of 180-190 a lot easier. However, we had the belief that a couple of quick wickets can bring us back in the game. So yeah, we got a couple of quick wickets, and it brought us back in the game.
[On the Oval experience] It means a lot. Last year was my first year playing here for Oval Invincibles and now MI London. I feel it is a great pleasure, and I am lucky to be part of this team. I am always enjoying the crowd, they come and support us in huge numbers. Enjoying my cricket here.
[On batters playing him differently] To be honest, that has not crossed my mind. My job is to hit the right areas and work really hard each day in the nets. I try to bring in new deliveries and make myself a lot more effective every day. I can never think about what the batters are doing. My job is to focus on what I can do and that is to hit the right areas consistently.
[On going back to join the national team] I enjoyed it a lot over here. I always play half of the Hundred. What can one do the national duty always has priority. I have had an amazing 2-3 weeks here and now will fly to Ireland tonight for the ODIs. It is good to be going there on the back of a fifer. Some really good confidence for me."
Player of the Match: Rashid Khan!
Most 5-wicket hauls in T20s
7 - David Wiese
5 - Rashid Khan
5 - Imran Tahir
5 - Bhuvneshwar Kumar
5 - Lasith Malinga
5 - Shaheen Shah Afridi
5 - Shakib Al Hasan
Most Catches as a Fielder for MI London in an Innings in Men’s Hundred:
4 – Donavon Ferreira vs London Spirit, The Oval, 2024
3 – Colin Ingram vs Manchester Super Giants, The Oval, 2021
3 – Will Jacks vs Manchester Super Giants, The Oval, 2023
3 – Ross Whiteley vs Sunrisers Leeds, Leeds, 2023
3 – Rashid Khan vs London Spirit, Lord's, 2025
3 – Sam Curran vs Welsh Fire, The Oval, 2025 3 – Will Jacks vs Manchester Super Giants, The Oval, 2026, Tonight*
Most Catches as a Fielder for MI London in Men’s Hundred:
22 - Will Jacks*
21 - Jordan Cox
20 - Sam Curran*
Biggest Defeat for Manchester Super Giants in Men’s Hundred (By Runs):
94 vs MI London, The Oval, 2023
69 vs Sunrisers Leeds, Leeds, 2021
52 vs London Spirit, Lord's, 2022 45 vs MI London, The Oval, 2026, Tonight*
25 vs Welsh Fire, Cardiff, 2025
Biggest Win for MI London in Men’s Hundred (By Runs):
94 vs Manchester Super Giants, The Oval, 2023
83 vs Welsh Fire, The Oval, 2025
45 vs Manchester Super Giants, The Oval, 2026, Tonight*
39 vs Welsh Fire, Cardiff, 2022
01:16 AM IST, 08:46 PM Local Time: What a commanding performance from MI London as they wrap up a 45-run victory over Manchester Super Giants at the Oval. Rashid Khan was the star of the show as he got his first five-wicket haul in the Hundred and it is a great way for him to sign off for International duty!
Chasing 184 for victory, Manchester Super Giants made the right noises as they posted a massive 55/0 in the Powerplay. However, the introduction of Rashid Khan and Nathan Sowter changed the complexion of the game completely. First, Rashid castled Tim Seifert with a googly while he also had Jos Buttler caught at deep mid-wicket where Nathan Sowter took a fantastic catch. The Manchester Super Giants' skipper, Aiden Markram got to a 25-ball fifty but he got out immediately off Sowter's bowling.
Heinrich Klaasen and Leus du Plooy came together to stitch a mini partnership and the former took on Rashid Khan with a reverse-swept maximum. Yet, Rashid got his man off the very next ball as he had Klaasen caught at short extra-cover by Sam Curran. Couple of balls later, Tom Moores also holed out to long-off to become Rashid's fourth victim. The Afghan came back and castled Liam Dawson with a googly to get his first five-wicket haul in the Hundred.
There was just no stopping the collapse as Tom Curran came back into the attack and dismissed du Plooy and Noor Ahmad in the same set. It didn't take long after that for Richard Gleeson and Trent Boult to take a wicket apiece to bowl out the Super Giants for a mere 138!
Earlier in the match, MI London also got off to a fine start as they got to 45/0 at the end of the Powerplay. The pair of Will Jacks and James Vince went onto stitch 71 runs for the opening stand before Liam Dawson dismissed the latter for 29 (20). But there was no respite for the Super Giants' bowlers as Nicholas Pooran walked in and didn't take any time to take the attack to Dawson.
Jacks also continued to bat in an aggressive manner as he smashed a maximum off Noor Ahmad to bring up his fifty off 28 balls. He came up with a couple more boundaries before Noor finally got him dismissed for 62 (31) with a googly. After a surprising gap, Markram finally brought back his pacers to test Pooran but the Trinidadian was the one who found success in partnership with Sam Curran. Curran made a quick-fire 23 before he was stumped off Noor but Pooran carried on and registered a 25-ball fifty.
Only Josh Tongue was saved from the brutal hitting and he was the one was castled Nicholas Pooran as well with a slower delivery. Tongue got another scalp as well in the form of Sherfane Rutherford while Tom Curran was run-out off the final delivery of the innings. On the whole, MI London ended up with 183/6 which proved to be more than enough!