The Cricketer looks at the main talking points from the Men's Hundred clash between Oval Invincibles and Trent Rockets at the Kia Oval
When you remove one of the greats of the game, it is imperative that you make it stick.
Saqib Mahmood did the hard part, striking Joe Root on the pad in front of all three, but England's all-time leading run-scorer survived courtesy of a front-foot no-ball.
Not only did the Lancashire quick's foot-fault chalk off the wicket, but it also gifted Root a free hit. With touch and class, the England batter knocked the next delivery down the ground for four, rubbing salt into Mahmood's wound.
The boundaries continued to flow for Root, racing to 52 runs off just 24 deliveries. One can only imagine what was going through Mahmood's head as the ball continued to race to the rope.
Root went on to punish the Invincibles before Rashid Khan eventually dismissed him for 76 off 41 deliveries. His knock was instrumental in helping the Rockets reach a first-innings total of 171 and keeping the defending champions in check.
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Joe Root survived being given out lbw before making 76 (ECB/Getty Images)
Rashid Khan is a cricketer who leads from the front. The numbers speak for themselves, but the way he energises and lifts his team is something different, something even more impressive.
After a fast start from Trent Rockets, and Root in particular, Sam Billings called on his superstar strike bowler. Within three deliveries, Khan had broken through, claiming Tom Banton lbw, and he returned figures of one wicket for just three runs in his opening 10 deliveries. And he would later go on to dismiss Root.
Before the Afghan leg-spinner entered the game - his last before joining up with his country - his Invincibles teammates looked shell-shocked and slightly sorry for themselves. Yet as soon as he had the ball in his hand, the team had a newfound confidence and swagger.
Fielders looked more energised and excited, and the quick wicket of Banton fuelled them further.
He mightn't be the Invincibles' skipper, but the expectation that his teammates have of him makes him a leader on the field. The confidence that he has in his own skills invigorates the performance of his teammates, and this allowed the Invincibles to wrestle back some momentum in the first innings. He will be sorely missed during the sharp end of the competition.
Jordan Cox's stellar form in The Hundred continued (ECB Images)
Sam Curran went absolutely ballistic as he put an unwanted record beside Sam Cook's name.
The Zimbabwean-born England allrounder hit three sixes into the leg-side and carved a four through the offside during Cook's penultimate set.
Alongside six runs from wides, a two and a no-ball, this made Cook's set, which went for 32, the most expensive in The Hundred's history.
The Kia Oval crowd simply could not contain their excitement as they cheered in anticipation before every ball, and watched it sail into the stands… again and again.
With another scintillating half-century from an inform Jordan Cox, the Oval Invincibles were dragged back into the run chase, having looked dead and buried.
The Rockets will look back on a heroic batting effort from Curran and Cox and count themselves unlucky to be on the receiving end of the onslaught. Meanwhile, the south London crowd fully appreciated the spectacle, exhilarated by every moment.
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