It is a battle between first and second on Saturday afternoon in the men's Hundred competition when table-toppers Trent Rockets head to the capital to take on MI London at The Oval.
A win for the visitors will all but secure their place at the top of the table with one game to spare and, with it, avoid the Eliminator and claim a place in the final a week on Sunday.
A win for MI London will see them draw level on points with the Rockets, but they would need a large swing in net run-rate to overtake their visitors.
If the home side can secure four points, they will at the very least be in prime position with one round of matches to go to and book a spot in the Eliminator game and continue their chances of making it four Hundred wins in a row.
MI London, under their previous guise as the Oval Invincibles, are certainly the team to beat in this format of the competition and, if the Rockets can continue their fine form this summer with a win at The Oval, they will boost their confidence ahead of the final stages of the competition.
The Rockets fell to a surprise loss to Birmingham Phoenix in their opening match of the tournament and bounced back in style to win their next five matches and sit four points clear at the top of the standings.
MI London have been rather more inconsistent, with four wins and two losses, and have only managed to string back-to-back wins once, in their last two matches this summer.
MI London v Trent Rockets Tips Summary
Best Bet - Player to score most fours - Ben Duckett @ 3/1
Alternative Bet - Richard Gleeson - Top MI London Bowler @ 4/1
Bet Builder - Will Jacks to hit 2+ sixes, James Vince to score 3+ fours & Ben Duckett to score 20+ runs @ 11/2
MI London v Trent Rockets Prediction
Best Bet: Player to score most fours - Ben Duckett @ 3/1
Ben Duckett has been in phenomenal form this summer. The England man has scored 260 runs in six innings for the Rockets at an average of 52.40.
On only one occasion has the opener scored under 22 runs and his four-hitting prowess is unmatched in the competition.
Duckett has smashed 38 fours, 16 more than any other player in the Hundred, along with four sixes.
His team-mate Finn Allen has managed 22, while the top four hitter in the opposition is James Vince with 18.
As a result, backing Duckett to get on top of the bowlers, continue his fine form and hit the most fours in the match looks like an excellent option at 3/1.
Alternative Bet: Top MI London bowler - Richard Gleeson @ 4/1
The Hundred is predominantly a batters' game, but Richard Gleeson has been in fine form with the ball for MI London.
The seamer sits top of the wicket chart with 10 in six innings at an average of 18 and a strike rate of 9.90. Given the batter-friendly conditions of the wickets and the short boundaries on offer at many grounds, his return is an impressive one.
His team-mates Trent Boult (8) and Rashid Khan (7) have been in the wickets this summer, but neither can match Gleeson's figures and backing the England man to perform for his side appeals.
MI London v Trent Rockets Bet Builder Tip
Will Jacks to hit 2+ sixes
James Vince to score 3+ fours
Ben Duckett to score 20+ runs
Pays 11/2
With both teams so evenly matched that the bookies can't separate them in the outright market, looking at the individual picks makes sense.
Will Jacks has hit 12 sixes in six innings for MI London and, with the home team needing a win, they will be desperate to get off to a quick start with the bat and Jacks will be given free rein to go hard at the top of the order.
Given the short boundaries at The Oval this summer, Jacks is more than capable of hitting two or more maximums for his team.
Former England international Vince is second only to Phil Salt in the all-time list of Hundred run-scorers and he has continued his run-scoring into this summer’s iteration of the competition.
Vince is MI London's third top runscorer this summer with 153 in six knocks and has hit 18 fours across his innings. Vince opens with Jacks and offers a more controlled option compared to his partner.
While Jacks looks to clear the ropes at every opportunity, Vince is a more delicate player looking to exploit the gaps and, as a result, find the boundary for four on a more regular basis.
While Duckett has dominated the four-hitting in this tournament, the opener has also contributed consistently with high scores.
In only one of his six innings has he failed to score over 20 runs, so backing the England man to do so once more is an attractive way to round off this three-fold.
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Key Match Stats
MI London have won three of the last four meetings between the pair.
MI Londo'’s top runscorer this season is Will Jacks with 213 runs in six innings.
Ben Duckett leads the way with the bat for Trent Rockets with 262 runs in five innings.
Rashid Khan has been replaced by Sikander Raza in MI London's squad.
MI London's Richard Gleeson is the tournament's leading wicket-taker with 10 in six matches.
Craig Overton has taken the most wickets for Trent Rockets with six in six matches.
Tactics, Form & Team News
MI London have a settled side, with Ollie Pope seemingly winning the battle with Jason Roy for the final batter's spot in the XI.
The two England men have been in and out of the side, but the recently recalled Pope has been named in the last two starting XIs and looks to have nailed down his place in the team.
Expected MI London XI: Will Jacks, James Vince, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Sam Curran (c), Sikandar Raza, Sherfane Rutherford, Tom Curran, Ollie Pope, Trent Boult, Nathan Sowter, Richard Gleeson.
Table-toppers Trent Rockets have a consistent look to their team and no changes are expected to the XI that won last time out in such convincing manner against Birmingham Phoenix.
Expected Trent Rockets XI: Ben Duckett, Finn Allen, Aneurin Donald, Sam Billings (c&wk), Tim David, Mitchell Santner, Lewis Gregory, Craig Overton, Calvin Harrison, Matt Henry, Mohammad Amir.
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
