Pooran and Curran power MI London to a seven-wicket win in The Hundred opener

MI London opened the new season of The Hundred with a chase that ended up barely raising a sweat, brushing aside Sunrisers Leeds by seven wickets under the Oval floodlights on Tuesday. Nicholas Pooran did the heavy lifting, Sam Curran finished the job, and the reigning men’s champions were home with 16 balls to spare.

It had not started that smoothly. Chasing 144, MI London slipped to 51 for 3 as Brydon Carse knocked over Jason Roy and Will Jacks and Nathan Ellis had James Vince bowled. Leeds sensed something. Then Pooran walked in and the game changed inside a couple of overs. He reached fifty off 19 balls, the fastest half-century anyone has made for the Oval-based franchise, and finished unbeaten on 58 from 22.

Curran sees it home

Curran was the calm at the other end, closing on 60 not out from 39 balls with five fours and three sixes. His stand with Pooran was worth more than 90 and never gave Leeds a sniff of the comeback they needed. For a side that lifted the trophy last summer as Oval Invincibles, before the rebrand, it was the sort of statement start a title defence is supposed to look like.

Leeds will feel they left runs out on the pitch. Ryan Rickelton gave them a loud opening, clubbing three sixes in the space of five balls before Curran had him lbw, and Mitchell Marsh top-scored with 41 from 27. But wickets kept tumbling around them, nobody else got past the thirties, and 143 all out in 99 balls always looked a fraction short on a ground where the boundaries come quickly.

Gleeson leads the way with the ball

The pick of the MI London attack was Richard Gleeson, whose four for 25 kept breaking the Leeds innings up just as it threatened to build. Every time Marsh and a partner looked set to accelerate, Gleeson took one out, and Leeds never managed the platform their batting promised.

This is the first edition of The Hundred played under new ownership, with IPL and other private investors having bought into the eight franchises over the winter. The rebrands, the fresh money and a first proper auction have changed how the tournament looks, but the opening night still belonged to a familiar name at the top of the table. MI London have simply picked up where they left off.

The competition runs through August, with the men’s and women’s sides in action across the month before the finals at Lord’s.

Follow all the cricket headlines here