Manchester Super Giants routed SunRisers Leeds to all but seal their place in The Hundred men’s eliminator and leave their opponents at risk of being knocked out.
The Super Giants restricted SunRisers to 127 all out from their 100 balls as England’s Gus Atkinson (3-30) and Sonny Baker (2-22) led the way, before opening batters Tim Seifert (80no from 40) and Paul Walter (44no from 28) knocked off the target with 33 balls to spare.
The huge margin of victory saw the Super Giants move above SunRisers into second place in the group table, with both sides on 20 points but Manchester having edged ahead on net run-rate. The result also confirmed Trent Rockets’ place in Sunday’s final as table-toppers.
Super Giants and SunRisers occupy the positions that would see them meet in Friday’s eliminator for a place in the final, but can still technically be caught by fourth-placed MI London and fifth-placed Welsh Fire, who go into their final group-stage matches on Wednesday on 16 points, meaning wins would take them to 20 points.
While Welsh Fire’s negative net run-rate of -1.001 makes it almost impossible they could catch either Super Giants or SunRisers when they face London Spirit, a big win for MI London away to Birmingham Phoenix could feasibly lift them into second or third.
Welsh Fire’s clash with London Spirit is live on Sky Sports from 3pm, with MI London’s trip to Edgbaston following at 6.30pm.
Asked whether he knew the net run-rate permutations ahead of the chase, Seifert, the Match Hero, said: “I had no idea, to be honest. A message got run out when we needed about 50 runs and that’s when we looked to put the pedal down.
“We’ve got a great side and it’s a great environment to play in. It’s my first time playing in The Hundred and it’s a great tournament to be involved in. It’s great to be playing in front of good crowds in amazing stadiums.”
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Seifert hammered three sixes in a row!
Seifert bludgeoned his third fifty in as many knocks and struck seven sixes, while Walter thumped three maximums of his own as the SunRisers’ attack was put to the sword.
The Super Giants’ opening pair were electric but the foundations for a stunning win were laid by their bowlers, who clawed things back after Ryan Rickelton and Mitchell Marsh had made a rapid start for the visitors, posting 42 from 22 balls before Rickelton became the first of Atkinson’s three victims.
Marsh (32 from 23), the tournament’s leading run-scorer, continued his fine form, but when he was snaffled at extra cover off Noor Ahmad, the visitors lost their way.
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A spectator was caught knitting at The Hundred!
Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence and Matthew Revis all fell cheaply and when Zak Crawley’s stuttering innings of 31 from 28 was ended by Baker, the wheels came off.
SunRisers could only muster 14 runs from the final 14 balls of the innings, for the loss of four wickets. Expensive earlier in the piece, Atkinson was exceptional, taking two wickets and conceding just three runs from the final five.
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