Cox and Curran Lead the Charge
Reigning champions Oval Invincibles extended their dominance in The Hundred with a convincing seven-wicket victory over Southern Brave, thanks to brilliant fifties from Jordan Cox and Sam Curran.
Chasing 134, the Invincibles suffered early setbacks as openers Will Jacks and Tawanda Muyeye fell cheaply to Craig Overton. However, Cox continued his stunning form, smashing a stylish 56 off 37 balls. Curran then anchored the chase with a fluent unbeaten 50 from just 32 deliveries, sealing the win with 11 balls to spare.
“𝑯𝒆’𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒆’𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒆’𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒇𝒖𝒍,” 𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑪𝒐𝒙 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 101-𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅.
Rashid Khan and Curran Shine with the Ball
Earlier, the Brave were left reeling at 32/3 after Jason Behrendorff and Tom Curran struck early. Things worsened when Rashid Khan dismantled the middle order, removing Jason Roy, Michael Bracewell, and James Coles in quick succession. His fiery spell lifted him to a tournament-leading 10 wickets this season.
With the hosts in trouble at 44/6, Hilton Cartwright (42 off 30) and Jordan Thompson (24 off 13) offered some resistance, but Sam Curran’s all-round brilliance proved decisive. He removed Thompson and later bowled Cartwright with a pinpoint yorker. Curran added another wicket, dismissing Jofra Archer, before also playing a role in the final run-out. The Brave folded for 133 in 98 balls, handing them their third consecutive defeat.
“𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒊𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑, 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆,” 𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝑴𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒌𝒂𝒕 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒐.
With this commanding performance, the Invincibles not only consolidated their top spot but also sent a strong reminder of why they remain title favorites.
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