Bowlers, Jacks keep Southern Brave winless in last-ball thriller

Will Jacks struck a composed half-century before Ollie Pope held his nerve to score the winning runs off the final ball as MI London edged Southern Brave by three wickets in a tense Hundred contest at the Utilita Bowl.

Chasing a modest target of 130 on a sluggish surface, MI London were pushed all the way before Pope steered Nikhil Chaudhary through backward point for two to seal victory. The win was MI London's second in three games, lifting them to third on the points table while Brave's winless run extended to three games this season.

MI stumbled early in the chase as Marcus Stoinis made an immediate impact with the ball. James Vince holed out in the deep before Nicholas Pooran edged behind first ball, leaving MI London under pressure. Jacks steadied the innings with Sam Curran as the pair rebuilt with a crucial 65-run stand that brought the equation down to 76 needed from the last 50 balls. Curran made 30 before Adil Rashid cleaned him up, while Stoinis returned to dismiss Jacks for a well-made 54 and finish with impressive figures of 3 for 17, leaving MI London needing 37 from the final 21 deliveries.

Sherfane Rutherford briefly swung the momentum by launching Chris Jordan for two sixes, only for the England seamer to respond with a direct-hit run-out. Tom Curran was then bowled by Chaudhary, while Rashid Khan was run out to leave MI London requiring three off the last three balls. After Chaudhary failed to hold a difficult return catch off Trent Boult and needed treatment following the attempt, the New Zealand quick squeezed a single to hand Pope the strike, and the England batter sliced the final delivery through backward point to take MI over the line in a nervy finish.

Earlier, Southern Brave struggled for fluency throughout their innings despite solid contributions from Jamie Smith and Tristan Stubbs. Ben McKinney and Stonis didn't contribute much with the bat but Smith's 26-ball 49 ensured good progress for Brave. When Smith was eventually dismissed by Richard Gleeson, after a 46-run stand with Stubbs, Brave had reached 82 for 3 in 58 balls, looking good for a score close to the 150-mark. But MI London hit back with regular wickets to restrict the opposition.

The middle order didn't make an impact as David Miller fell for 8 and Stubbs departed soon after for a 31-ball 38. Nikhil Chaudhary struck a couple of boundaries but Brave's innings lacked a flourishing finish as they lost four more wickets and finished short of 130. Boult, Tom Curran, Gleeson and skipper Sam Curran bagged two wickets each.

Brief scores: Southern Brave 129/9 in 100 balls (Jamie Smith 49 off 26, Tristan Stubbs 38 off 31; Trent Boult 2-15, Sam Curran 2-22) lost to MI London 130/7 in 100 balls (Will Jacks 54 off 41, Sam Curran 30 off 29; Marcus Stoinis 3-17) by 3 wickets.