AI simulation, LS vs OI | Rashid Khan and Will Jacks star as Invincibles start with resounding win against Spirit

‌Pitch and Weather 

The surface at Lord's was like a paradise for the batters with decent bounce. While the pacers initially got some seam movement off the surface with the new ball, it was easy batting conditions with the ball coming nicely onto the bat.

The weather was cool and breezy at the venue with no signs of rain, with players enjoying a full game of cricket.

Toss

Oval Invincibles won the toss and elected to bowl first.

Lineups

London Spirit: David Warner, Keaton Jennings, Jamie Smith (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Ollie Pope, Ashton Turner, Wayne Madsen, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Richard Gleeson, Luke Wood.

Oval Invincibles: Jordan Clark, Jordan Cox, Will Jacks, Sam Curran, Sam Billings (c)(wk), Donovan Ferreira, Miles Hammond, Tom Curran, Rashid Khan, Gus Atkinson, Saqib Mahmood.

Match Report

The Oval Invincibles won the toss and put London Spirit into bat on what seemed like a flat surface at Lord's. It was not the best of starts for the home team as David Warner was dismissed early in the innings, edging a ball to the keeper off Gus Atkinson. The situation got worse as Keaton Jennings and Jamie Smith failed to convert their good starts and were dismissed by Sam Curran. The left-arm pacer put on a wonderful display of seam bowling, with both batters caught brilliantly by Will Jacks in the slip cordon. The Spirit were caught in a tricky position at 45/3 in 35 balls and despite the underwhelming start, skipper Kane Williamson and Ollie Pope set a decent fourth-wicket partnership to get the team out of trouble. While it seemed like the team had finally recovered, Rashid Khan dismissed Williamson for 41 off just 27 deliveries with a well-disguised wrong-un. He also got Pope in his second spell for a score of 25, top-edging a poorly executed reverse scoop to short third man. Despite that brief period where the runs started to flow, the Invincibles were back in the game with the score at 111/5 in 77 deliveries with two new batters at the crease. Ashton Turner and Wayne Madsen fell early, with Turner being deceived by a back-of-the-hand slower ball by Tom Curran, and Madsen saw his stumps uprooted by a toe-crushing yorker from Saqib Mahmood. Spirit scored 37 runs off the last 23 deliveries to finish at a score of 148/7, which seemed slightly under-par on a good batting wicket.

The Oval Invincibles also had an upsetting start losing Jordan Clark, who mistimed a well-directed bouncer by Luke Wood to short square leg, early in the chase. Despite the minor hiccup,  Jacks and Jordan Cox formed a crucial partnership to keep the runs flowing. While Jacks played his shots, Cox rotated the strike well at the other. The Invincibles looked comfortable with their score at 71/1 after 46 deliveries. However, the Spirit seemed to come back in the game with left-arm spinner Liam Dawson trapping Jacks, who missed a cross-batted slog, plumb in front of his stumps for 43. Cox followed suit as he was deceived by a well-flighted delivery, which resulted in him getting stumped by Smith in the end. The situation seemed to get worse as Curran got dismissed for just 11, hitting the ball straight back at Jamie Overton, who completed a marvelous one-handed catch. The Oval franchise was suddenly struggling at 87/4 in 56 deliveries, needing 62 off 44 deliveries. It seemed like Spirit were back in the game as Richard Gleeson returned to dismiss Miles Hammond. However, the celebrations were short-lived as skipper Sam Billings and Donovan Ferreira came to the rescue of the Invincibles. Both batters scored runs at a healthy rate and made sure they finished the game with eight balls and five wickets to spare. Billings finished on a score of 28 off 20 deliveries while Ferreira played some eye-catching shots in his 14-ball 30, and finished the game with a huge six over mid-wicket.

Player of the match

Will Jacks was the Player of the Match for his crucial knock at the top and for taking two incredible catches in the first innings.

Scorecard