Manchester Super Giants Win First Hundred Title in Lord's Thriller

Manchester Super Giants won their first men's Hundred title after beating Trent Rockets by five wickets in a tense final at Lord's. BBC Sport reported that the Old Trafford-based side reached 162-5 from 98 balls in reply to the Rockets' 158-8, with Liam Dawson ending the contest by clearing the mid-wicket boundary when three runs were required from the final three deliveries.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=homTmv4ZlP0

The chase was built around Tim Seifert's 72 from 38 balls. The New Zealand batter struck seven sixes and four fours, giving the Super Giants the decisive innings that the Rockets could not match. Seifert and Paul Walter added 66 from 31 balls for the opening wicket, while Jos Buttler contributed 23 from 14 deliveries and hit three sixes. Leus du Plooy was unbeaten on 27 at the finish.

The Super Giants appeared to have the chase under control when they needed only three runs from nine balls, but the closing moments became unexpectedly difficult. Mohammad Amir removed Heinrich Klaasen and Michael Bracewell, before Ben Sanderson delivered two dot balls to Dawson. After missing twice, Dawson held his nerve and struck the winning six with two balls remaining.

Earlier, the Rockets received useful contributions without producing an innings on Seifert's scale. Ben Duckett made 31, Aneurin Donald hit 38 from 19 balls, Mitch Santner added 20 and Lewis Gregory scored 32. Their momentum was checked when captain Sam Billings was run out for seven and Tim David fell to Noor Ahmad from the next delivery. Ahmad finished with 3-33, while Amir later took 3-29 during the Super Giants' innings.

There was also a major moment involving Finn Allen on the boundary. His relay attempt looked capable of dismissing Seifert on 33, but officials ruled that Allen's foot had touched the rope before he jumped beyond it. Seifert went on to equal Will Jacks' record for the highest score in a Hundred final and completed the tournament with 394 runs, the second-highest total behind Mitchell Marsh.

The result denied table-topping Trent Rockets the chance to become the first franchise to win both the men's and women's Hundred competitions in the same season. For the Super Giants, renamed from Manchester Originals this year, victory followed defeats in two previous men's finals. One of those losses came against the Rockets in 2022, which remains Trent's only men's title.