SunRisers Leeds secured a place in The Hundred women’s final by defeating Southern Brave in an eliminator match at The Kia Oval. Chasing a target of 115, SunRisers reached 116-5 from 89 balls, winning with 11 deliveries remaining. The victory sets up a final meeting against Trent Rockets at Lord’s on Sunday August 16.
Southern Brave posted 114-7 in their 100 balls, with Lizelle Lee contributing 32 off 25 balls. The Brave innings featured an opening partnership that started positively but encountered resistance from SunRisers’ bowling attack. Hannah Baker took 2-13, Annabel Sutherland claimed 2-31, and other bowlers limited the scoring in the latter stages.
SunRisers’ chase proved tense despite the modest target. The team found itself in difficulty at 54-3 and again at 95-5 as Issy Wong displayed exceptional bowling form with 3-21. Wong claimed the key wicket of tournament leading run-scorer Phoebe Litchfield early in the chase and removed Lauren Winfield-Hill, who had accumulated 37 runs off 37 balls. However, India’s Deepti Sharma remained composed with an unbeaten 28 off 22 balls and guided SunRisers across the line in partnership with Jess Jonassen.
The result continued contrasting fortunes for the two teams. Southern Brave suffered their fourth consecutive loss after beginning the tournament with five consecutive victories. SunRisers, defending champions from the previous year’s competition when operating under the name Northern Superchargers, extended their winning streak to five consecutive victories. Trent Rockets, who clinched top spot in the women’s table, have won their last six matches heading into the final.
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