Mitchell Santner Blasts Trent Rockets Into The Hundred Top Three With Six-Wicket Win Over MI London

Mitchell Santner turned a potentially awkward chase into a statement victory at The Oval, smashing an unbeaten 52 from only 23 balls as Trent Rockets defeated MI London by six wickets with 10 balls remaining in Match 25 of The Hundred Men’s Competition 2026.

MI London had posted 147 for seven from their 100 balls, largely through captain Sam Curran’s 72 from 46 and Will Jacks’ 39 from 26.

For much of the chase, that total looked competitive.

Trent Rockets were 70 for four after 49 balls, with Finn Allen, Aneurin Donald, Sam Billings and Ben Duckett all gone.

Then Santner changed the match.

Batting alongside Tim David, the New Zealand all-rounder attacked the shorter side of The Oval aggressively, reached his fifty from 21 balls and finished unbeaten on 52 from 23. David supported him with 32 not out from 24 balls as the pair carried the Rockets to 148 for four after 90 balls.

The victory was Trent Rockets’ sixth win from seven matches and confirmed their place in the top three. It was also their first victory at The Oval in the history of The Hundred, according to the match commentary supplied from the completed game.

The official competition site confirms the final scores of MI London 147 for seven and Trent Rockets 148 for four, with the Rockets winning by six wickets. The Hundred’s official website also lists the completed fixture at The Kia Oval. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

For more tournament coverage, readers can follow The Sports Encounter’s cricket section.

MI London vs Trent Rockets: Match 25 Scorecard

Match Detail	Information
Competition	The Hundred Men’s Competition 2026
Match	Match 25
Date	August 8, 2026
Venue	The Kia Oval, London
Toss	Trent Rockets elected to field
MI London	147/7 from 100 balls
Trent Rockets	148/4 from 90 balls
Result	Trent Rockets won by six wickets
Balls Remaining	10
Player of the Match	Mitchell Santner, 52* from 23 balls
MI London Top Scorer	Sam Curran, 72 from 46 balls
Trent Rockets Support	Tim David, 32* from 24 balls
Best Rockets Bowling	Lewis Gregory, 2/32
Points	Trent Rockets 4, MI London 0

TL;DR

• Trent Rockets beat MI London by six wickets at The Oval.
• MI London scored 147 for seven from 100 balls.
• Sam Curran made 72 from 46, with four fours and five sixes.
• Will Jacks added 39 from 26 balls.
• Trent Rockets slipped to 70 for four during their chase.
• Mitchell Santner smashed 52 not out from 23 balls.
• Tim David finished unbeaten on 32 from 24.
• The pair shared an unbroken 78-run fifth-wicket stand.
• Trent Rockets reached 148 for four after 90 balls.
• The win confirmed the Rockets’ place in the top three.

Santner Found the Weakness MI London Could Not Protect

The scorecard says Santner scored 52 not out.

The more important detail is where and how he scored those runs.

Speaking after the match, Santner explained that the dimensions of The Oval allowed Trent Rockets to exploit a shorter boundary through a left-right batting combination.

“With the dimensions of the ground, the left-right combo was good to us. That short side, you kind of just have to keep going every ball of the 10, and let Timmy do the other side.”

That observation explains the tactical shift better than the raw strike rate alone.

MI London had done enough for 65 balls to keep themselves competitive.

At the strategic timeout, Trent Rockets were 91 for four.

Santner was on 12.

David was on 18.

The chase still required 57 runs from 35 balls.

That should have been a defendable position.

Instead, Santner repeatedly targeted the favorable side of the ground and denied London the chance to settle into a defensive pattern.

MI London Had the Rockets at 70 for Four

The chase began badly for Trent Rockets.

Finn Allen was dismissed for one from four balls.

Aneurin Donald briefly exploded with 23 from only ten deliveries, hitting five fours, before being run out.

Captain Sam Billings then fell for a duck.

Ben Duckett tried to stabilize the innings but was dismissed for 27 from 26 balls by Richard Gleeson.

At that point, the Rockets were 70 for four after 49 balls.

London had removed four of the top five.

They had also forced the asking rate upward.

The contest was there to be won.

Santner and David Turned 70 for Four Into 148 for Four

No further wicket fell.

Santner and David added 78 runs for the fifth wicket from only 41 balls.

Santner contributed the majority of the acceleration.

He hit five fours and three sixes.

His fifty came from only 21 deliveries.

David played the complementary role, finishing with 32 from 24 balls, including two fours and two sixes.

That partnership transformed the match because it combined aggression with almost no dismissal risk.

Trent Rockets did not need a last-ball finish.

They did not even need the final ten deliveries.

Santner pulled Sam Curran for the winning single on ball 90.

Santner’s 52 Was More Than a Finishing Cameo

The temptation is to describe Santner’s innings as a late cameo.

That would undersell it.

He arrived with Trent Rockets under pressure and MI London still controlling the middle phase.

His innings accounted for more than one-third of the required target despite facing fewer than a quarter of the Rockets’ available balls.

The key difference was tempo.

While other batters had struggled to maintain momentum, Santner scored at a strike rate of 226.08.

That acceleration neutralized the earlier wickets almost completely.

Sam Curran Had Given MI London a Defendable Total

MI London’s 147 for seven was built around one outstanding innings.

Sam Curran made 72 from 46 balls.

He struck four fours and five sixes and scored at a strike rate above 156.

London had been 36 for two after only 23 balls following the dismissals of James Vince and Nicholas Pooran.

Curran had to rebuild while maintaining enough aggression to stop the innings from stalling.

He managed both.

Curran reached fifty from 30 balls and continued attacking through the closing phase.

Without him, London’s total would likely have fallen well below par.

Will Jacks Gave London Their First Burst of Momentum

Will Jacks made 39 from 26 balls, including three fours and three sixes.

He was London’s first genuine aggressor.

Jacks helped compensate for the early loss of Vince for three and Pooran for one.

He and Curran took MI London from 36 for two to 70 for three.

The innings still had a platform.

Calvin Harrison then removed Jacks with a return catch.

That dismissal increased the pressure on Curran considerably.

Ollie Pope’s Retirement Changed the Shape of the Innings

One of the more unusual moments came when Ollie Pope was retired out after scoring eight from nine balls.

His strike rate of 88.88 was significantly below the tempo MI London required approaching the final 30 balls.

The decision reflected the tactical flexibility available in short-format cricket.

London needed faster scoring.

They effectively sacrificed a wicket to create room for more aggressive batting.

Sikandar Raza then made 16 from 11 balls.

But MI London never found the sustained late surge they needed.

Trent Rockets Controlled Enough of the First Innings

Lewis Gregory finished as the most successful Rockets bowler with two wickets for 32 runs from 15 balls.

Craig Overton took one for 24.

Matt Henry claimed one wicket but conceded 37 from 15.

Calvin Harrison’s ten balls were particularly effective, costing only 11 runs and producing the key wicket of Jacks.

Santner contributed with the ball too.

His 20 deliveries cost only 19 runs.

He went wicketless, but an economy rate below one run per ball was extremely valuable in a 100-ball innings.

That made his later batting performance even more influential.

Santner’s Match Was Quietly Complete

Santner’s Player of the Match award was driven by the 52 not out.

His bowling deserves equal context.

Twenty balls.

Nineteen runs conceded.

Then 52 from 23 balls.

He influenced both innings without needing a wicket.

That is precisely the kind of performance that explains why multidimensional players become disproportionately valuable in The Hundred.

MI London Failed to Convert Their Best Moment

The defining failure for MI London came after Duckett’s dismissal.

Richard Gleeson had just removed the left-hander.

The Rockets were 70 for four.

London had two new batters together.

A defending team wants exactly that scenario.

The next phase should have been built around dots, boundary protection and forcing Santner or David into a mistake.

Instead, the partnership settled quickly.

Once Santner identified the favorable boundary, MI London could not change the geometry of the contest.

The Missed Santner Chance Became Expensive

Santner could have been dismissed on 24.

He survived.

He finished on 52.

Those additional 28 runs became enormously costly.

In a six-wicket chase completed with ten balls remaining, one missed opportunity rarely explains the entire result.

But this was the moment MI London needed.

Remove Santner there and the equation changes immediately.

David would have been left with the lower order and a rising required rate.

Instead, Santner stayed and accelerated.

Richard Gleeson Was MI London’s Best Bowler

Gleeson gave London their strongest bowling performance.

He conceded 27 runs from 20 balls and took two wickets.

Those wickets were important.

He dismissed Billings for zero and later removed Duckett.

Trent Boult was even more economical, conceding only 21 from his 20 balls, but he went wicketless.

Tom Curran took one wicket but conceded 22 from ten balls.

Sam Curran’s 20 balls cost 38.

That latter spell became particularly expensive once Santner began attacking.

Trent Rockets Have Now Won Six of Seven

The wider significance goes well beyond one chase.

Santner confirmed after the match that Trent Rockets had six wins from seven matches.

The victory formally secured their place in the tournament’s top three.

That means their season has moved from qualification pressure toward positioning.

The direct route to the final is now the bigger prize.

Santner acknowledged that the Rockets are not yet guaranteed top spot.

“Six wins out of 7, you’re not guaranteed the top one. It’ll be a tight finish but we know what we need to do on Monday.”

That final group-stage match comes against Southern Brave at Trent Bridge, with the official fixture schedule listing the meeting for Monday, August 10. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

The Rockets Have Built Their Campaign Through Different Match Types

One reason Trent Rockets look increasingly difficult to beat is that their victories have not followed one formula.

Earlier in the competition, they defended 146 against SunRisers Leeds by five runs in a much tighter contest, with Ben Duckett making 64 and the bowling attack holding its nerve late. That match is covered in The Sports Encounter’s report on the SunRisers thriller. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

They then dominated Birmingham Phoenix, restricting them to 111 for six before winning by seven wickets with 17 balls remaining. Our Match 22 report detailed how Lewis Gregory’s bowling laid the foundation. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}

Against MI London, the problem was different.

The Rockets lost four wickets before the halfway point.

This time, Santner and David supplied the answer.

The Early Birmingham Defeat Looks Increasingly Distant

Trent Rockets’ tournament did include a major setback.

Birmingham Phoenix beat them by ten runs in a 418-run contest at Edgbaston, where the Rockets conceded 214 for four before replying with 204 for seven.

That extraordinary match is revisited in The Sports Encounter’s report on Joe Clarke and Will Smeed’s assault. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}

What has happened since is more revealing.

The Rockets have become increasingly controlled.

They are finding different players to solve different situations.

The defensive wins and comfortable chases now sit alongside a successful recovery from 70 for four.

MI London Missed an Opportunity to Strengthen Their Own Position

The defeat was particularly disappointing for MI London because their recent form had created momentum.

Two days earlier, they had beaten London Spirit by four wickets at Lord’s, with Sikandar Raza providing the decisive late acceleration.

The Sports Encounter’s report on that chase showed how MI London strengthened their qualification position after reaching 164 for six in 94 balls. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}

They had also produced one of their strongest performances of the season against Manchester Super Giants.

Will Jacks and Nicholas Pooran powered London to 183 for six before Rashid Khan took five wickets in a 45-run victory.

That result is covered in our analysis of MI London’s power-hitting win. :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}

Against the Rockets, London created another winning position.

They simply failed to close it.

The Top-Three Race Is Tightening

Trent Rockets have secured their place in the top three.

The rest of the qualification picture remains fluid.

SunRisers Leeds strengthened their own challenge a day earlier by beating Birmingham Phoenix by 45 runs, with Ryan Rickelton scoring 65 and Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts taking three wickets each.

The full details are available in The Sports Encounter’s Match 24 report. :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}

Manchester Super Giants have also kept themselves relevant after chasing 156 in only 69 balls against Welsh Fire.

Tim Seifert and Jos Buttler’s explosive victory revived Manchester’s campaign and added further pressure to the middle of the standings. :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}

Trent Rockets’ Final Group Match Now Has a Different Meaning

Qualification is no longer the immediate question.

Position is.

The top team advances directly to the final at Lord’s.

The teams below must negotiate the Eliminator.

That distinction makes Monday’s home match against Southern Brave extremely valuable.

A direct route removes one knockout match and one additional opportunity for a season to end.

For a team that has won six of seven, that should be the target.

Santner’s Role Gives Trent Rockets Something Unusual

Most teams carry specialists.

Santner gives Trent Rockets flexibility.

He can bowl 20 controlled balls through difficult phases.

He can alter matchups against right-handed batters.

He can bat in the middle order.

And, as The Oval showed, he can finish a chase at more than two runs per ball.

That combination becomes increasingly useful in knockout cricket.

Opponents cannot plan for him as only a bowler or only a lower-order hitter.

What MI London Will Regret Most

London will look at several moments.

Pooran’s run-out for one.

Pope’s inability to accelerate.

The failure to push 147 toward 160.

The missed chance offered by Santner.

But the largest tactical regret should come from the period after 70 for four.

That was the phase where the match could have been closed.

Instead, the Rockets scored the remaining 78 runs without losing another wicket.

What the Result Says About Trent Rockets

The Rockets have now demonstrated three qualities that matter at the business end of a tournament.

They can defend modest totals.

They can chase comfortably.

They can recover from losing early wickets.

That third quality may be the most important.

Knockout matches rarely follow ideal scripts.

A top order will eventually fail.

A bowler will have a poor spell.

A catch will go down.

The strongest teams survive those moments because someone else solves the problem.

On Saturday, that player was Mitchell Santner.

The Hundred 2026 Has Already Produced Several Different Contenders

Trent Rockets may be setting the pace, but the tournament has remained competitive across the leading teams.

MI London have shown their power.

SunRisers Leeds have climbed rapidly.

Manchester Super Giants have demonstrated destructive chasing ability.

Southern Brave still have matches capable of influencing the standings.

That competitive landscape gives the final round of group matches genuine consequence.

It also reinforces why broader tournament context matters alongside individual match results.

The Sports Encounter has previously examined the competition’s wider position through our analysis of attendance and atmosphere during The Hundred 2026. :contentReference[oaicite:9]{index=9}

Final Analysis: Santner Turned Qualification Into a Statement

Trent Rockets had already established themselves as one of the strongest teams in The Hundred 2026.

The Oval victory added something else.

Resilience.

The Rockets lost Finn Allen cheaply.

Aneurin Donald’s burst ended quickly.

Sam Billings made a duck.

Ben Duckett was dismissed with more than half the chase remaining.

At 70 for four, MI London had created enough pressure to make the league leaders uncomfortable.

Santner responded with one of the most destructive innings of the competition.

Fifty-two not out from 23 balls.

Five fours.

Three sixes.

An unbroken partnership with Tim David.

Victory with ten balls remaining.

And a top-three place secured.

The numbers tell the result.

The more important detail is what happened when the Rockets stopped controlling the game.

They found another way to win it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won MI London vs Trent Rockets in Match 25 of The Hundred 2026?

Trent Rockets defeated MI London by six wickets at The Kia Oval on August 8, 2026.

What was the score in MI London vs Trent Rockets?

MI London scored 147 for seven from 100 balls. Trent Rockets reached 148 for four after 90 balls.

Who was Player of the Match?

Mitchell Santner was named Player of the Match after scoring an unbeaten 52 from 23 balls.

How many balls did Trent Rockets have remaining?

Trent Rockets completed the chase with 10 balls remaining.

How many runs did Sam Curran score?

Sam Curran top-scored for MI London with 72 from 46 balls, hitting four fours and five sixes.

How many runs did Mitchell Santner score?

Santner scored 52 not out from 23 balls at a strike rate of 226.08.

How did Tim David perform?

Tim David scored an unbeaten 32 from 24 balls and shared the match-winning fifth-wicket partnership with Santner.

How many matches have Trent Rockets won in The Hundred 2026?

After beating MI London, Trent Rockets had six wins from seven matches.

Have Trent Rockets qualified for the knockout stage?

Yes. The victory over MI London confirmed Trent Rockets’ place in the top three.

Can Trent Rockets still qualify directly for The Hundred final?

Yes. Their final group match against Southern Brave will be important in determining whether they finish top and secure the direct route to the final.

When is Trent Rockets’ next match?

Trent Rockets are scheduled to face Southern Brave at Trent Bridge on Monday, August 10, 2026. :contentReference[oaicite:10]{index=10}

Where can fans find official Hundred results and fixtures?

Official fixtures, results and competition information are available through The Hundred’s official website. :contentReference[oaicite:11]{index=11}