LONDON: New Zealand batter Tim Seifert produced a stunning display of power as Manchester Super Giants chased down 159 against Trent Rockets to win the men’s Hundred title by five wickets at Lord’s on Sunday.
Seifert’s blistering 72 off just 38 balls laid the foundation for Manchester’s successful chase before Liam Dawson held his nerve in a tense finish to seal the franchise’s maiden Hundred title.
The Super Giants needed just three runs from the final nine balls after Mohammad Amir dismissed Heinrich Klaasen and Michael Bracewell in successive deliveries to give the Rockets a late opening.
Ben Sanderson then bowled two consecutive dot balls, reducing the equation to three runs from three deliveries.
Dawson, however, ended the contest emphatically, clearing the mid-wicket boundary for six to complete the chase with two balls to spare.
Earlier, Seifert took the game away from Trent Rockets with a remarkable counter-attacking innings. The right-hander smashed seven sixes and four fours during his 72-run knock, putting Manchester firmly in control of the chase.
Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel
Rockets had an opportunity to remove Seifert when he was on 33, but Finn Allen’s spectacular effort on the boundary was ruled out after his foot touched the boundary rope before he attempted to complete the catch.
Seifert went on to equal Will Jacks’ record for the highest individual score in a men’s Hundred final.
His performance also capped an excellent campaign in which he finished as the competition’s second-highest run-scorer behind Mitchell Marsh, accumulating 394 runs at an average just under 50.
For Manchester Super Giants, the triumph ended a long wait for their first men’s Hundred title.
The Old Trafford-based franchise, formerly known as Manchester Originals, had previously lost two men’s finals, including against Trent Rockets in 2022.
The Rockets, meanwhile, missed out on the opportunity to become the first franchise to win both the men’s and women’s Hundred titles in the same season.
They had topped the men’s table and earned a direct route into the final after their final group-stage fixture on Monday, but were ultimately denied by a superb Super Giants chase.