Manchester Super Giants 147 for 6 (Mandhana 88*) beat Sunrisers Leeds 142 for 4 (Sutherland 35, Litchfield 31) by four wickets
In a star-studded match featuring five Australian overseas stars and three Indians it was Mandhana who proved the difference, making her first fifty of the Hundred this year, her highest score at the tournament, and her 59th overall in her short-format career.
She had her moments of fortune, dropped by Phoebe Litchfield when she was on 30 and then, at a crucial juncture with 16 needed from 10, by Darcey Carter, the ball bursting through her hands to run away for four. Those aberrations aside, she was majestic. Marshalling the run chase, she was cautious initially, and went to her half-century from 33 balls as Sunrisers looked to turn the screw.
Four wickets fell for 10 runs, but Mandhana prevailed, dominating the final quarter to take her team home with four balls to spare. She brought up the win with back-to-back sixes, effortlessly lifted over Annabel Sutherland’s head, to make it four maximums in all, her match-winning 88 coming from 50 balls.
Earlier in the piece, Sunrisers scrapped to set a challenging score, with cameos from their Australian pairing of Sutherland and Litchfield and a flurry from skipper Dani Gibson at the death. The pick of Super Giants’ bowlers was Kathryn Bryce, who induced the false shot to remove Litchfield for 31. It was apt that Bryce was there at the end along with Mandhana to clinch a famous victory that takes the Manchester franchise to 10 points from three matches, second behind Southern Brave.
Mandhana, the Meerkat Match Hero, said: “It feels great to win the match. I got a little lucky with the dropped chance, but nevertheless I was able to get the job done. We discussed that the wicket had a bit of hold in it, it wasn’t a typical Headingley wicket, and I didn’t start the way I would have loved to, but we ended nicely.
“In franchise cricket you’re going to have good days and bad days, the turnover is quick, but if you win matches like these, then it puts you in a good place.”
