Mitchell Santner produced a remarkable 50 to guide the Trent Rockets to a stunning six wicket win over the MI London in The Hundred. On Saturday, August 8, London locked horns with the Rockets in the 25th game of the ongoing tournament. After being invited to bat first, the Sam Curran-led squad posted 147 with the loss of seven wickets in 100 balls. After losing James Vince and Nicholas Pooran within the powerplay, opener Will Jacks and skipper Curran took steering in their hands and came up with 39 runs and 72 runs, respectively. 

In return, the Rockets lost Finn Allen early, and while Ben Duckett and Aneurin Donald tried to bridge the gap between them and the target, skipper Sam Billings’ wicket came in as another setback. However, Tim David and Mitchell Santner stood till the end, and while the Aussie remained not-out at 32, Santer pushed and hit a crucial fifty to chase the target with two overs remaining as the side recorded a six-wicket win. 

Mitchell Santner Named Match Hero for Heroics With Bat 

For his heroics and playing a crucial role, Santer was named the Match Hero. This win marked the first ever victory for the Rockets at the Oval and while they had lost four wickets for 70 runs at one point, the crucial 78-run partnership for the fifth wicket helped them seal the deal. Speaking about his knock, the Kiwi all-rounder said, “Never disappoints, the Oval. Great place to play. Yeah, nice, nice little win.” 

“I think with the dimensions of the ground, the left-right combo was good for us, and I think that served them really well as well. So, with that short side, you kind of just have to keep going, every ball and then eventually try to do the other side.” Now that the Rockets have qualified for the top three, Santer reflected on the same and spoke about Monday’s direct final qualification game. He said, “Six wins out of seven, you're not guaranteed top one, so we know it's a big game. We know, quality teams all throughout this competition. So it's gonna be a tight finish, but yeah, we know we gotta do on Monday at home.”