Rickelton set the tone for Sunrisers Leeds with an explosive start, striking three sixes and one four before falling leg-before to Sam Curran for 25 off 16.
Mitchell Marsh added 41 off 27, but Sunrisers lost their way as Richard Gleeson ran through the middle order, finishing with 4-25 to restrict them to 143.
South African-born England international Tom Curran chipped in for MI London with 2-28, before brother Sam Curran steadied the chase with an unbeaten 60.
Nicholas Pooran then exploded alongside him, reaching a 19-ball fifty, the fastest in the franchise’s history, as MI London cruised home by seven wickets with 16 balls in hand.
Photo: Philip Brown/Getty Images
