OI vs SB | Rashid, Curran and Cox star in Oval Invincibles’ seven-wicket win over Southern Brave

‌Oval Invincibles continued their merry run in The Hundred Men’s 2025 campaign with a clinical seven-wicket win over Southern Brave at The Rose Bowl in Southampton on Tuesday. Rashid Khan picked up three wickets in four balls to run through Brave’s middle order, while left-arm pacer Sam Curran cleaned up the tail with another three-wicket haul to restrict the home side to 133 in 98 balls. Curran also starred with the bat with an unbeaten half-century, with Jordan Cox also scoring a fifty to complete the chase with 11 balls to spare.

Left-arm seamer Jason Behrendorff justified the Invincibles’ skipper Sam Billings’ decision to bowl first with an excellent two sets upfront. He struck with the last ball of his second set to dismiss the hosts’ captain James Vince. The Australian pacer returned after an over to scalp Leus du Plooy, who was looking dangerous with a six and four in the previous over. Brave’s powerplay woes deepened when Tom Curran cleaned up Laurie Evans, with the score reading 32/3 after the first 25 balls. With Rashid Khan picking up three wickets in his very first set, the home side slid to a precarious 44/6. The Afghanistan leg-spinner foiled Jason Roy’s attempt to reverse sweep in his second ball, with Billings completing the catch from behind the stumps. He, then, disturbed Michael Bracewell’s timber off the very next ball before trapping James Coles in front of the wicket. Brave’s scorecard was lent some respectability with the knocks of Hilton Cartwright and Jordan Thompson. Cartwright hit four fours and a six to top-score for the Brave with a 30-ball 42, while Thompson entertained the dejected crowd with three fours and a six during his entertaining cameo of 24 off just 13 balls. However, left-arm pacer Curran’s 3/21 in 18 balls ensured that the Invincibles’ target was locked at 134. Rashid also finished with impressive figures of 3/20 in his four sets.

The visitors’ reply wasn’t promising either, with openers Will Jacks and Tawanda Muyeye being sent back by Craig Overton, with the score reading just 18. However, Jordan Cox and Sam Curran, who came in at four, steadied the ship to end the powerplay without further damage at 27/2. However, Cox shifted gears in the very next over to welcome Tymal Mills into the attack with two fours and six. Curran joined the party with three boundaries in the next over from Thompson. Cox ensured another big over when the left-arm seamer returned for his second, hitting 14 runs off four balls to bring the equation down to 41 off 40 balls. The pair added 101 runs for the third-wicket partnership in only 64 balls as the Invincibles raced to 134/3 in 89 balls. Mills was relieved as he accounted for Cox, who smashed seven fours and two sixes in his 37-ball 56, though the result was sealed. Curran remained unbeaten as he completed his fifty in the last ball, his 32-ball knock consisting of four fours and two sixes. The Invincibles won their fourth game in five matches to continue on top of the points table, while the Brave were condemned to their third straight loss.