Rashid Khan claimed the first five-wicket haul in the 2026 edition of the Men’s Hundred, following half-centuries from Will Jacks and Nicholas Pooran, as MI London registered a thumping 45-run win over Manchester Super Giants at The Oval. Having posted 183 for 6 – MI London’s highest total in this Hundred – they rode on Rashid’s 5 for 17 to restrict Super Giants to 138, with the win taking them to second on the points table.
Super Giants got off to a quick start in the chase, with the openers adding 59 in 30 balls. Aiden Markram, who scored the bulk of the runs in the opening stand, brought up a 25-ball fifty but Rashid’s strikes derailed the chase completely. The Afghanistan legspinner had Tim Seifert bowled and also accounted for the wicket of Jos Buttler. Nathan Sowter, who took a good catch close to the deep midwicket boundary to send Buttler back, soon dismissed Markram Super Giants at 74 for 3.
Leus du Plooy and Heinrich Klaasen tried to steady the innings as they took Super Giants past 100. But Klaasen, who struck a six off Rashid, fell soon after thanks to a good catch from Sam Curran. Tom Moores got out in the same set, and Liam Dawson followed soon after as Super Giants slipped to 109 for 6, with Rashid having bagged five of those wickets. The pacers then wrapped it up as Tom Curran bagged a couple of wickets while Richard Gleeson and Trent Boult picked up one each as Super Giants’ innings ended in 95 balls.
Earlier, having been asked to bat, Jacks powered MI London’s blistering start, with James Vince supporting the captain in a 71-run opening stand that came in only 42 balls. While Dawson ended Vince’s stay, Pooran came in next and took little time to get going, striking a six and a four off the spinner. Jacks then brought up a 28-ball fifty with a six off Noor Ahmad and followed it up with another six and a four before the left-arm wrist spinner ended his stay.
At 121 for 2 after 70 balls, MI London were well placed for a big finish and they plundered 62 from the next 30 deliveries. Sam Curran smashed two sixes off Gus Atkinson before Pooran took apart Sonny Baker with a six and a four. Noor dismissed Sam Curran for a brisk 23 off 11, but Pooran maintained the momentum, hammering Atkinson for two sixes and two fours across successive deliveries to bring up a 25-ball fifty.
MI London looked set to breach the 200-run mark after reaching 174 with 10 balls remaining, but Super Giants pulled things back impressively at the death, conceding only nine runs while taking three wickets. Josh Tongue finished with excellent figures of 2 for 13 from 20 balls, removing Pooran and Sherfane Rutherford in his final set, while Baker dismissed Tom Curran off the last ball of the innings.
Brief scores: MI London 183/6 in 100 balls (Will Jacks 62 off 31, Nicholas Pooran 54 off 28; Josh Tongue 2-13) beat Manchester Super Giants 138 in 95 balls (Aiden Markram 50 off 26, Leus du Plooy 22 off 17; Rashid Khan 5-17) by 45 runs.
