Hundred Finalists: Sunrisers Edge Past Wong’s Heroics

Hundred Finalists: Sunrisers Edge Past Wong’s Heroics

Sunrisers Leeds survived Southern Brave's Issy Wong-inspired fightback to reach The Hundred final with a five-wicket win in the women's Eliminator.

Chasing just 115 at The Oval, Sunrisers were cruising at 95-3 with 25 balls to go before Wong took two wickets in two balls to give Brave a glimmer of hope.

Sunrisers' skipper Dani Gibson was bowled first ball, but Deepti Sharma held her nerve with an unbeaten 28. Jess Jonassen calmly hit the winning boundary off Lauren Bell with 11 balls to spare.

The low target meant Sunrisers' anchor Lauren Winfield-Hill could play a relatively relaxed innings, scoring 37 off 37 balls.

Meanwhile, Southern Brave's batting effort was stuttering, with 41 dot balls and just 13 boundaries in their 114-7. Lizelle Lee gave them a positive start with 32 off 25 balls, which included the only six of the game.

Brave's all-rounder Charli Knott tried to revive the innings with her 25 off 21, but was left with too much to do after Maia Bouchier struggled for 15 off 17.

Young leg-spinner Hannah Baker was the star for Brave with a miserly 2-13, but the Brave batters failed to live up to their name and offered little in terms of proactiveness.

Sunrisers will now face Trent Rockets in the final at Lord's on Sunday, with the Headingley-based franchise looking like the team to beat despite Rockets finishing top of the table.

A win on Sunday would secure back-to-back Hundred titles for Sunrisers, who have been in fine form throughout the tournament with a four-match winning streak.

Issy Wong's average pace throughout her spell was 70mph, her quickest in the tournament, but the wicket ball was 11mph slower and breathed life into a previously flat contest.

However, Sunrisers' batting depth was the key as Deepti Sharma and Jess Jonassen barely broke sweat in withstanding the pressure Wong had built.

Sunrisers will take plenty of confidence from it being a relatively comfortable chase without contributions from either of their Australian superstars in Phoebe Litchfield and Annabel Sutherland, who made four and 17 respectively.

The lack of run-rate pressure meant Winfield-Hill and Sharma could withstand Bell's metronomic spell before she was bowled by Wong's brilliant slower ball.

Sunrisers will be looking to build on this momentum and make it back-to-back titles when they take on Trent Rockets at Lord's on Sunday.


Source: BBC Sports