Welsh Fire secured a 15-run victory over MI London at Sophia Gardens, driven by a spectacular individual performance from Rachin Ravindra and a clinical bowling display by Lockie Ferguson. Ravindra narrowly missed a century, scoring 98 runs off just 44 balls, marking one of the most significant innings in the history of the men's Hundred competition.
The hosts initially faced a difficult start after being asked to bat, finding themselves at 20 for 2 after 22 deliveries following the dismissals of Phil Salt and Matthew Short. Ravindra stabilized the innings, accelerating to a 50-run mark in just 22 balls. He surpassed Jonny Bairstow’s record of 86 runs to set a new highest individual score for Welsh Fire in the tournament. Supported by Joe Root’s 29 and Jordan Cox’s unbeaten 17, Ravindra helped propel the team to a total of 187 for 4. His innings included seven fours and seven sixes, though he was eventually caught by Jason Roy off Trent Boult on the 98th ball.
In response, MI London began their chase with steady progress, led by James Vince and Jason Roy, who reached 72 for 1 after 46 balls. The momentum shifted when Lockie Ferguson dismissed Roy and Sam Curran with consecutive deliveries. Ferguson later removed Nicholas Pooran, further pressuring the visitors. Despite a fluent 66 from 38 balls by Vince, the chase faltered when Ravindra completed a diving caught-and-bowled dismissal to remove him. Although Sherfane Rutherford contributed an unbeaten 24, Welsh Fire’s bowling attack remained composed. Ferguson returned to dismiss Tom Curran, finishing with figures of 4 for 26 to seal the win.
Brief Scores: Welsh Fire 187/5 in 100 balls (Rachin Ravindra 98, Joe Root 29; Trent Boult 1-16) beat MI London 172/6 in 100 balls (James Vince 66, Sherfane Rutherford 24; Lockie Ferguson 4-26, Sam Cook 1-21) by 15 runs.
