Curran-Cox onslaught sees Invincibles home
Remarkable 10-ball hitting barrage turns game after Joe Root's 76 put Trent Rockets in control
Remarkable 10-ball hitting barrage turns game after Joe Root's 76 put Trent Rockets in control
Scorer: K Vairavan | Commentator: Rashad Mahbub
And that concludes the Hundred Cricket action for today. Thank you for tuning in. This is Rashad Mahbub, signing off on behalf of K Vairavan and Chandan Duorah. Goodbye!
Player of the Match, Sam Curran: "I needed a 7 off 12 balls or something like that, so the panic was in. But no, I think it came at the right time, just to have a little sip of water and kind of restart again. But huge game, huge win. We looked at the table before this game, probably the two sides on 16 points, and to get the points tonight, we're really pleased. [Message from the sidelines] It's kind of those cliches. I think it was 107 off 40 balls. And we knew in T20 or 100-ball cricket, it's kind of that three or four sixes. And you're like, wow, we nearly had 70 off kind of 35 balls. And it's such a lovely place to bat. The crowd felt electric. It was almost like one of those games in India where every boy had a buzz. It's like, wow! How cool is this? [Rockets] They obviously played really well. Root batted really well, and the way George Linde finished, and we know it's a really good wicket, and I guess just strong shots in the way Cox is batting as well. Makes it a lot easier as well. So all in all, like I said, still lots to learn. We can do a lot better with the ball. And the way we chase that in the end, and with 11 balls to spare, was pretty special in the end. [All bases covered from a batting perspective] I wouldn't think any time we always have all bases covered. But we've been pretty smart with guys, kind of moving Donovan's come up with the order little times go for that net run rate, and guys being really selfless with their wicket and things like that. And there's still a few more games to go, and we just kind of take one game at a time. We played Headingly on Saturday against the top team, so I'm really looking forward to that. And we are a side that really focuses on what we can do better, and kind of take that positivity and mood is very big on that. So fingers crossed, we can keep going. [Finishing top of the table] The schedule has been pretty intense, and that does help when you're winning, you keep that momentum, and you kind of keep coming to the game, turning up to the stadium, full crowds, really high in confidence. But it can go the other way as well. So we want to come top, but we got two more games left, one away at one at home. And I think it is a big advantage. If you do come top, you get a few days to recover and a nice couple of days training before the big game, whether that's the eliminator or kind of the final. But, I think it's dangerous territory if we look too far ahead and we say that we'll stay at the moment."
9:20 pm The Oval Invincibles' unbelievable form continues, and they seem unstoppable! What a match and what a turn of events! The Invincibles had a difficult start, struggling to time the ball as the seamers found swing with the new ball. Just as Muyeye started to find his rhythm, hitting two consecutive boundaries, Willey dismissed him with a brilliant slower delivery right at the end of the Powerplay. The required run rate kept climbing as Rehan Ahmed immediately got into the action, dismissing the struggling opening batter, Jacks. The Rockets' bowlers did a great job of restricting runs and boundaries. However, everything changed after the strategic timeout. Jordan Cox and Sam Curran shifted the momentum by smashing three sixes off Willey's set. In the very next set, Curran went berserk, hitting an incredible 32 runs off Cook's set, completely changing the course of the match. This bizarre hitting spree from Curran, supported by Cox, turned the game around. The Invincibles got over the line with 11 balls to spare. Jordan Cox stayed unbeaten with 58 runs off 32 balls, but it was Sam Curran who did most of the damage, scoring 54 runs off just 24 balls. The Rockets didn't help their own cause, conceding 17 extras and losing their way with the ball in the second half of the innings.
Oval Invincibles won by 6 wickets
Niranjan: "@Manoj, i don't think Willey bringing himself on was a brain-fade moment, it was a captain's gut, and he would have liked to slide in an over when the pressure was on opponent, and he would have liked to have options at the death, the real brain-fade moment was when he decided to give the ball to Sam Cook right after him going expensive."
D Ferreira c Stoinis b Sanderson 14 (10m 5b 0x4 2x6) SR: 280
8 needed from 15, here's Sanderson
Sandeep Mathew: "Give credit where due ! Absolute brain fade from Willey and Cook and made merry by Curran and Cox !"
Raucous win over Trent Rockets puts Sam Billings' side on the cusp of a third consecutive title
Remarkable 10-ball hitting barrage turns game after Joe Root's 76 put Trent Rockets in control