‌Men’s Hundred | Twitter Reacts to Cox and Zampa dwarf the Spirits as Invincibles gain NRR-boosting win

The decision to field first after winning the toss paid rich dividends for Oval skipper Sam Billings as the London batters failed to extend a decent start in the middle overs. Having lost a solitary wicket inside the powerplay for 35 runs, the fall of Michael-Kyle Pepper (27) in the sixth set exposed their middle-order woes against quality wrist spin. Ollie Pope, Shimron Hetmyer, and Andre Russell went back to the pavilion in a space of nine balls before the Curran brothers and Zampa further damaged their batting reputation by bundling them for a paltry 96 with eight balls remaining. Dan Lawrence and Liam Dawson were the other two batters who reached the double-digit mark apart from Pepper.

Similar to their counterparts, the Invincibles lost a wicket inside the powerplay but the duo of Dawid Malan and Jordan Cox took their time to get to a 26-run powerplay before opening their arms. While Malan shepherded the innings, Cox continued to play attacking shots against both spinners and pacers during the middle overs phase. The home side reached 50 on the 39th ball before the partnership grew to a similar figure. With Cox operating in the top gear, the runs came thick and fast for the Invincibles as the right-handed batter smoked a fifty and clobbered a six to offer an NRR-boosting victory with nine wickets in hand at the Kennington Oval.

Beast mode

In form

Well played

Powerful shot

Good catch

This season

Not anymore

Clutch catch

Good form

What a performance