- Nicholas Pooran has scored 72 runs in The Hundred this season
- Oval Invincibles have started season with two wins
- Recommended bet: Nicholas Pooran top Northern Superchargers runscorer

Northern Superchargers finished bottom of the pile in The Hundred last year but things are already looking up for the franchise following the arrival of Andrew Flintoff as head coach.

Flintoff's men lost their opener by 47 runs against Trent Rockets but bounced back with a seven-wicket victory over Southern Brave last time out.

Nicholas Pooran starred in that match with a score of 62, while Harry Brook posted an unbeaten 34, and generally the Superchargers looked in good nick.

Next up is arguably one of their toughest matches of the season as they prepare to face Oval Invincibles, who are top of the table with two wins from two games.

Team news

Gus Atkinson is yet to feature for Oval Invincibles following his involvement in England's Test series with the West Indies.

Northern Superchargers could again be at full strength with the likes of Harry Brook and Mitchell Santner in the team.

The stats

Oval Invincibles have won back-to-back matches in The Hundred this season, following on from last year when they won six of their eight group assignments.

Pooran has scored 72 runs in The Hundred this term, including a high score of 62 against Southern Brave last time out.

Oval Invincibles ace Adam Zampa is the leading wicket-taker in The Hundred this year with six scalps in two matches.

Prediction

Northern Superchargers dug deep to secure their first win of The Hundred last time out, defeating Southern Brave by seven wickets at Headingley.

And central to their success was the performance of Pooran.

In just his second match for the team after having been the first pick in the draft earlier this year, Pooran smashed a commanding 62 runs off 34 deliveries to power his side to victory.

He was up against a testing bowling attack featuring Jofra Archer, Tymal Mills, Rehan Ahmed and Chris Jordan, but rose to the occasion and put on a 50-partnership with team skipper Harry Brook.

It was a testing track at Headingley, favouring spin bowlers, but Pooran excelled, picking up from where he left off at the T20 World Cup earlier this season.

Pooran was among the leading runscorers at the T20 World Cup earlier this year, scoring 228 runs in seven innings, which included an eye-watering high score of 98.

He has eased any nerves with that knock against Southern Brave and looks like the dangerman for Northern Superchargers, so expect him to come out on top in the runscoring charts again.

Back Nicholas Pooran top Northern Superchargers runscorer at 3/1 with LiveScore Bet.