Time to wrap up this coverage, folks! Oval Invincibles outclass Southern Brave to win their 4th game of the season, and sit firmly on top of the points table. We hope you enjoyed our coverage. For now, it's me, Deepak Prakash, signing off on behalf of co-commentator Pritam Dey and scorer/analyst Paras Yadav. Cheers & Good Night!😴
Sam Curran (Hero of the Match): "Yeah, we are extremely delighted with this win. With the way the table is placed at the moment, we knew it was going to be a big game. They are such a good team and thankfully we got a win on the board.
(On his all-round performance) Yeah, I am really enjoying it. Most of us know each other for a long time. The coaches are great too. We have a great atmosphere in the dressing room as well. The entire group is performing well and we want to carry on with this momentum for the upcoming games.
We know our strengths. We are back at The Oval on Thursday as we play the Trent Rockets and then play Saturday and Monday. Fingers crossed we stay positive and keep going well."
Hero of the Match: Sam Curran
1:43 AM IST, 9:13 PM Local Time: A dominant performance from Oval Invincibles, and they drubbed Southern Brave by 7 wickets and 11 balls to spare. With this loss, Brave have lost three games on the trot.
Earlier, Southern Brave’s innings never found momentum after Sam Billings opted to bowl first in Southampton. Jason Behrendorff set the tone with early strikes, dismissing skipper James Vince (7) and Leus du Plooy (13) to put the hosts under pressure. Tom Curran then bowled Laurie Evans (8) before Rashid Khan produced a game-changing spell. The leg-spinner ripped through the middle order, removing Jason Roy (5), Michael Bracewell (0), and James Coles (7) in his opening set, leaving Brave tottering at 44/6. Hilton Cartwright (42 off 30) fought back with Jordan Thompson (24), adding a brisk 37-run stand, but Sam Curran broke through and closed out the tail. Despite Cartwright’s resistance, Brave were bundled out for 133 in the final set. Rashid Khan (3/20) and Sam Curran (3/21) starred with the ball for the Invincibles. In response, the Invincibles lost Will Jacks (1) and Tawanda Muyeye (9) cheaply, with Craig Overton dismissing both openers. However, Jordan Cox and Sam Curran paired up in the middle and scored rapidly, putting things back on track for the Invincibles. Southern Brave struggled to break this partnership, but the Cox-Curran pair took the game far from them. Cox (56) notched up his fifty, and the partnership for the third wicket moved past 100 runs. Tymal Mills eventually dismissed Cox, but the damage was already done. Sam Billings (13*) and Sam Curran (50*) guided the Invincibles home with a 7-wicket win and 11 balls to spare, with Curran bringing up his half-century in the process. Brave bowlers failed to continue the momentum and leaked runs at regular intervals. Craig Overton bagged a couple of wickets for them, while Tymal Mills celebrated a solitary wicket.
18th Five
Oval Invincibles
134/3
Sam Curran
50(32)
Sam Billings
13(7)
Jordan Thompson
0-31(14 b)
Sam Curran scampers for the second run and completes his fifty off 32 balls. Oval Invincibles win by 7 wickets and 11 balls to spare.