Manchester Super Giants beat SunRisers Leeds by 20 runs at The Oval to reach The Hundred men’s final against Trent Rockets at Lord’s.
Manchester Super Giants: 186/4 (100 balls)
Paul Walter 80 (46)
Heinrich Klaasen 63 (26)
Jos Buttler 33 (20)
SunRisers Leeds: 166/7 (100 balls)
Ryan Rickelton 54* (34)
Harry Brook 49 (31)
Result: Manchester Super Giants won by 20 runs.
Player of the Match: Josh Tongue, Manchester Super Giants.
Manchester Super Giants booked their place in The Hundred men’s final after beating SunRisers Leeds by 20 runs in a high-scoring Eliminator at The Kia Oval on Friday.
Paul Walter and Heinrich Klaasen produced the decisive batting partnership before Josh Tongue struck with the ball. Manchester defended 186 for four from 100 balls, restricting SunRisers to 166 for seven.
The result sends Manchester into Sunday’s final against table-toppers Trent Rockets at Lord’s.
The Super Giants suffered an immediate setback when Tim Seifert fell for a duck from only the second ball. Brydon Carse gave SunRisers the early breakthrough. Seifert had scored 80 from 40 balls against the same opposition only three days earlier.
However, Walter quickly took control.
Jos Buttler made an important 33 from 20 balls and helped steady the innings. Klaasen then arrived and sharply increased the scoring rate.
Walter hammered 80 from 46 deliveries, hitting eight sixes and three fours. Klaasen was even more explosive, smashing 63 from just 26 balls.
Together, they added 114 runs from 52 balls in a partnership that included 13 sixes. Their attack carried Manchester Super Giants to an imposing 186 for four from 100 deliveries.
Manchester Super Giants Take Control With the Ball
SunRisers began their chase aggressively, but Josh Tongue quickly shifted the momentum back toward Manchester.
Mitch Marsh struck 10 from six balls before Tongue removed him. Four deliveries later, captain Zak Crawley was trapped lbw for six.
Harry Brook and Ryan Rickelton then gave SunRisers hope with an 81-run partnership.
Brook made 49 from 31 deliveries but fell one run short of a half-century when Sonny Baker trapped him lbw. Replays indicated the ball had struck Brook outside the line. However, Leeds had already used their reviews, so the decision stood.
Rickelton remained unbeaten on 54 from 34 balls, but wickets continued to fall around him.
Tongue finished as Manchester’s standout bowler with four wickets for 26 runs from his 20 deliveries. Baker also played an important role, claiming two for 39. SunRisers eventually closed on 166 for seven, leaving Manchester 20-run winners.
New Identity, First Chance at The Hundred Title
The victory gives Manchester Super Giants the chance to lift The Hundred trophy in their first season under the new identity.
The team previously competed as Manchester Originals before RPSG Group acquired a 70 per cent stake in the franchise. SunRisers Leeds similarly replaced the Northern Superchargers identity after Sun TV Network acquired the team.
Those changes formed part of a major investment programme involving all eight Hundred franchises. The eight partnerships valued the franchises collectively at more than £975 million, while more than £500 million is set to be invested back into English and Welsh cricket.
Manchester Super Giants will now face Trent Rockets in the men’s final at Lord’s on Sunday, August 16, at 6:00 p.m. UK time. Walter, Klaasen and Tongue have already delivered under knockout pressure. One more victory would complete Manchester’s run with The Hundred title.
