Invincibles beaten on home patch after collapsing in chase of 146

ECB Media02-Aug-2024Nicholas Pooran was at it again, making his second big-hitting half-century in a row to secure back-to-back victories for Andrew Flintoff’s Northern Superchargers in the Hundred.In front of 24,160 expectant fans at the Kia Oval, Pooran ensured the theme of the day was Superchargers teams crashing the party – and clearing the boundary – after the women’s team won in an equally comprehensive manner earlier in the day.The two wins signalled the end of both Oval Invincibles sides’ 100% records, and left both men’s and women’s competitions wide open.Pooran’s 65 came from just 41 balls, with four mammoth sixes, and navigated a difficult start for his side to see Superchargers to 145 from their 100 balls. Pooran found it easier than most to find or clear the boundary, but Ollie Robinson’s 20 from 10 added some late impetus and gave the visitors a competitive total at the break.The Superchargers bowlers never let Invincibles get away in their chase, with Jordan Clark, Dillon Pennington and Matthew Potts all miserly up top. They received good support from their team-mates in the field, with Adam Hose and Mitchell Santner himself taking tidy catches in the deep.Santner was one of a trio of spinners, alongside Adil Rashid and Matt Short, who backed up the good work their seamers had started to give Invincibles nowhere to go in the middle of their innings.As the home team’s hopes began to fade, there was still time for Donovan Ferreira to pepper the spectators with five sixes in a 24-ball 49. The South African’s enterprising and entertaining knock briefly threatened to turn the game on its head before he was dismissed by Potts, but his was a lone hand – the only player to pass 20 in a chase that never really got into sixth gear.Meerkat Match Hero Pooran said: “For me it’s about being consistent with my mindset, and playing the situation of the game. In the past I’ve been in similar situations and just got out, but today I just felt like I had to respect the situation and just be there at the end.”Oval Invincibles bowled really well with the new ball; Spencer Johnson bowled really well. For me it was all about being there. As the innings prolonged for me, it felt like it got better, but in saying that it felt like if we could get anything over 130 then it was game on. And I just felt like we could only get there if we constructed the partnership or if I could stay till the end.”It’s brilliant. Getting back to back wins in a format like this is really important. Coming outside of our home venue too, coming here to the defending champions and getting a win is really important for us to continue growing as a group as well. We’re heading back to Headingley on Sunday and hopefully we can continue ticking the boxes and getting the right result.”