In a dazzling display of resilience, Tom Curran and Jimmy Neesham of the Oval Invincibles smashed the previous Hundred Men’s competition record with an unbeaten 127-run partnership from just 64 balls. This remarkable feat eclipsed the previous best of 124, held by Dawid Malan and D’Arcy Short for Trent Rockets’ second wicket against Southern Brave in 2021.

At the fall of the fifth wicket, the Invincibles found themselves at a modest total of 34. Only one other men’s T20 final-winning team, Uganda, managed to secure victory after losing their fifth wicket at a lower score – a mere 32 runs in the Africa Continental Cup final against Kenya earlier this year, ultimately clinching a one-run triumph with a total of 125.

In a stunning testament to their fortitude, the Invincibles became the first team in the Hundred Men’s competition to snatch victory despite losing their first five wickets for less than 50 runs. This feat echoed the Trent Rockets’ triumph over the Northern Superchargers in 2021, when they successfully chased down a target of 133, recovering from a perilous five-down for 41 runs.

The top five batters of the Invincibles contributed just 29 runs on that memorable Sunday, marking the lowest collective effort by a top five in a men’s T20 final. The previous record stood at 42 runs, achieved by Westerns against the Northerns in the 2009 Zimbabwe domestic T20 final. It also represented the lowest combined contribution by the top five batters of a winning team in the Hundred Men’s competition.

The partnership between Curran and Neesham was nothing short of extraordinary, standing tall at 127 runs without losing a wicket. This historic union ranks as the fourth-highest sixth-wicket partnership in men’s T20 cricket. The pinnacle is the formidable 161 achieved by Andre Russell and Kennar Lewis for the Jamaica Tallawahs against Trinbago Knight Riders in 2018. Additionally, Curran and Neesham’s partnership marked the first-ever century stand for the sixth wicket or lower in a men’s T20 final.

Tom Curran’s unbeaten 67 against the Originals established a new benchmark for individual scores in a Hundred final. This surpassed Paul Stirling’s 61 against Birmingham Phoenix in the 2021 edition, which was the sole half-century recorded in the final across the first two editions of the Hundred in both men’s and women’s competitions.

Tom Curran and Jimmy Neesham’s remarkable feat as the fifth pair of No.6 and No.7 players to score fifty-plus runs in the same innings in men’s T20 cricket is a testament to their exceptional prowess. The Oval Invincibles’ innings marked only the tenth occurrence in men’s T20s where two players batting at No.6 and lower achieved fifty-plus scores in the same innings. Prior to this game, such a feat had never been accomplished in the Hundred Men’s competition.

Out of Tom Curran’s five T20 fifties, an impressive four have come while batting at No.7 or lower. Joining the ranks of Russell, Pollard, Wiese, and Foster, Curran solidified his place among the elite with his remarkable performance, showcasing the impact that players in the lower order can have in men’s T20 cricket.