Oval Invincibles (OVI) will be keen to climb to second in the points table when they take on London Spirit (LNS) at the Oval in match 28 of the Hundred. A half-century from Jason Roy and Sunil Narine’s three-wicket haul steered Oval Invincibles, who have won all three games at their home so far, to a victory against Trent Rockets in their last game.
A narrow six-run win over Manchester Originals helped the Eoin Morgan-led London Spirit register a maiden win in the tournament. They will be hoping to pick maximum points from the remaining two games and avoid finishing bottom of the table.
Team News
Both teams are unlikely to tinker with their playing eleven after grabbing victory in their respective last matches. Oval Invincibles opener Jason Roy has been a bright spark in the franchise’s batting department. He has a strike rate of 155 and racked up two half-centuries in five innings. Meanwhile, Colin Ingram has struggled to find runs at the Oval. The New Zealand batsman has managed 35 runs from three innings at Oval Invincibles’ home.
Narine and Tom Curran have been excellent for the franchise. Both clinched a three-wicket haul at the Oval and picked up 13 wickets in the tournament so far. Overseas spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, too, has been impressive. However, Reece Topley is on the expensive side and failed to pick up wickets in the last two matches.
Brad Wheal starred in London Spirit’s victory in Manchester. The 24-year-old, on his debut, bagged a four-wicket haul and gave away just two runs in the final five balls. Spinners Mohammad Nabi and Mason Crane, too, excelled with the ball against Manchester Originals.
The batting remains a concern for the London outfit. None of their batters have crossed the three-figure mark in the tournament so far. Adam Rossington has managed two 40-plus scores, while the likes of Josh Inglis, Eoin Morgan, Mohammad Nabi, and Ravi Bopara haven’t lived up to the hype. It would be interesting to see whether they will stick with Rossington and Luis Reece as openers. Reece was dismissed for a duck, while Inglis came at No. 3 against Manchester Originals.
Top Five Fantasy Points scorers (previous match)
OVI: S Narine (82 pts), J Roy (80 pts), T Curran (72 pts), T Shamsi (54 pts), A Blake (39 pts)
LNS: B Wheal (132 pts), M Nabi (65 pts), A Rossington (61 pts), M Crane (37 pts), B Cullen (37 pts)
The Hundred Stats
Most Runs: OVI – J Roy (174 runs); LNS – J Inglis (99 runs)
Most Wickets: OVI – T Curran (7 wickets); LNS – M Nabi, B Cullen (6 wickets)
Most Sixes: OVI – J Roy (8 sixes); LNS – A Rossington (3 sixes)
Most Fours: OVI – J Roy (17 fours); LNS – J Inglis, A Rossington (11 fours)
Most Catches: OVI – L Evans (5 catches); LNS – R Bopara (4 catches)
Squads
OVI (likely): J Roy, W Jacks, S Narine, C Ingram, S Billings, L Evans, A Blake, T Curran, T Shamsi, R Topley, S Mahmood
LNS (likely): A Rossington, J Inglis, L Reece, E Morgan, J Cracknell, R Bopara, M Nabi, R van Merwe, B Cullen, B Wheal, M Crane
Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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