For the first forty-odd deliveries at the Kia Oval, Sunrisers were winning the contest. Their bowlers reduced MI London to 8 for 2 inside ten balls and kept the pressure on for much of the first half of the chase. But once Nicholas Pooran arrived at the crease, Sunrisers had no answer, and a seven-wicket defeat was the outcome of a game that had briefly been theirs to take.

A Promising Bowling Start

Sunrisers' captain Zak Crawley made the decision to persist with Brydon Carse at the start of MI London's chase and the call paid off almost immediately. Carse's movement and pace accounted for Will Jacks in the sixth ball of the innings — the seam angled in and then moved away, drawing a mistimed heave to Benny Howell at cover. Three balls later, Jason Roy edged to slip without troubling the scorers. Carse's line and pace through those early deliveries were sharp, and his first 10-ball spell returned 2 for 8.

Matthew Potts offered good support from the other end. He was tight without taking wickets in his opening spell, keeping MI London to a minimal scoring rate and putting both Vince and Curran under consistent pressure. At halfway — 58 for 3 from 50 balls, with 86 required from the remaining 50 — Sunrisers had a genuine chance of defending their total.

The Middle-Over Problem

Sunrisers turned to their slower bowlers in the middle phase, bringing Benny Howell, Dan Lawrence and Abrar Ahmed into the attack. This proved to be the phase where the contest turned. Howell's first spell went for 24 from 10 balls as Pooran struck twice for four and once for six against him in a single over. Lawrence, despite his reputation for containing in this format, was hit for a six by Pooran over the boundary sponge when a delivery was retrieved from the ground as Pooran scooped it high and long enough to clear the rope.

Abrar Ahmed arrived as perhaps Sunrisers' best hope of slowing the chase. He dismissed neither batter and his ten-ball spell went for 30. Pooran swept him for six over square leg, then slapped another over long on in the very next delivery. Curran also launched Abrar over straight midwicket for six. The target, which had seemed competitive at the 50-ball mark, was coming down far too quickly.

No Answers at the Death

Carse returned for his final allocation and was more economical than the rest of the attack — his overall figures of 2 for 18 were the best of the Sunrisers' bowlers on the night. But he could not take the wickets needed to change the match's direction. Ellis was tidy in phases — he removed Vince with a fine delivery — but Pooran treated him with the same contempt as everyone else, reaching his fifty in part off Ellis' bowling and striking him for a fine-leg four in the final balls of his spell.

Potts returned for his last five with 11 required from 20 balls. A full toss was dispatched for six by Curran. Pooran finished the match off the next over, launching Potts beyond mid off for four to complete the win with 16 balls remaining. Potts' final figures were 0 for 22.

Sunrisers will reflect on a middle-over bowling phase that cost them the match. Their new-ball work was competitive and their batting set a total of 143 that gave them a chance. But the combination of Pooran's destructive hitting and Curran's anchoring role proved too much. The 40-ball partnership between the two MI London batters — which produced the bulk of the runs required — exposed the lack of a single delivery capable of removing either batter once they were settled. For Sunrisers, the task now is to regroup before their next fixture.