109/3 (13.4)
CR : 7.98
107/8 (20.0)
CR : 5.35
Sunrisers Leeds Women won by 7 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Phoebe Litchfield
43(26)
13.4
4
Nicola Carey to Danielle Gibson
FOUR RUNS! Hammered through the off side. Danielle Gibson hits the winning runs for her side. Short of a length delivery outside off, width offered. 66 mph. Gibson gives herself some room and belts it through the gap of extra cover and mid off for a boundary. A commanding victory for Sunrisers Leeds as they win by 7 wickets!
Over 14
Sunrisers Leeds Women 109/3
Danielle Gibson12(7)
Annabel Sutherland30(23)
Nicola Carey0-24(9 b)
SNL-W won by 7 wickets
9:34 PM IST, 5:04 PM Local Time: That’s it. Sunrisers Leeds start their title defence on a winning note. They beat MI London comprehensively by 7 wickets in the opening game of Women’s Hundred 2026. Glum faces in the MI London dugout as they have been completely outplayed today in front of their home crowd.
Chasing 108, Sunrisers lost Bryony Smith cheaply on four in the very first set. Jess Jonassen started positively before getting run out on 14 on the 18th ball. Annabel Sutherland joined Phoebe Litchfield and both started building a partnership for the visitors. Both kept ticking the scoreboard and kept the required run rate under check.
The Australian duo added 57 for the third wicket before Litchfield got cleaned up on 26-ball 43 in the 11th set. Skipper Danielle Gibson (12*) joined Sutherland (30*) and both provided the finishing touches to the chase as Sunrisers Leeds chased down the total with 7 wickets in hand and with 31 balls to spare.
Alexa Stonehouse (1/12) and Kirstie Gordon (1/17) grabbed a wicket each for the hosts but it wasn't enough as they failed to defend the total. There weren't enough runs on the board and they need to forget this loss quickly and move ahead.
Earlier, MI London were asked to bat first and they got off to a solid start. Hayley Matthews and Danielle Wyatt-Hodge opened the batting and put 56 between them before the former fell on 33 on the 37th ball. The hosts were well-placed at 68/1 at the halfway mark of their innings.
The second half completely belonged to Sunrisers Leeds. Kerr (13) and Wyatt-Hodge (29) were dismissed in a quick succession and MI London lost all the momentum. None of their other batters managed to get to double digits. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals and finished their innings on 107/8.
For Sunrisers, skipper Danielle Gibson (2/17), Hannah Baker (2/16) and Deepti Sharma (2/20) picked up two wickets apiece. The batters then stepped up and chased down the total comfortably with 7 wickets in hand and with 31 balls to spare.
Chasing 108, Sunrisers lost Bryony Smith cheaply on four in the very first set. Jess Jonassen started positively before getting run out on 14 on the 18th ball. Annabel Sutherland joined Phoebe Litchfield and both started building a partnership for the visitors. Both kept ticking the scoreboard and kept the required run rate under check.
The Australian duo added 57 for the third wicket before Litchfield got cleaned up on 26-ball 43 in the 11th set. Skipper Danielle Gibson (12*) joined Sutherland (30*) and both provided the finishing touches to the chase as Sunrisers Leeds chased down the total with 7 wickets in hand and with 31 balls to spare.
Alexa Stonehouse (1/12) and Kirstie Gordon (1/17) grabbed a wicket each for the hosts but it wasn't enough as they failed to defend the total. There weren't enough runs on the board and they need to forget this loss quickly and move ahead.
Earlier, MI London were asked to bat first and they got off to a solid start. Hayley Matthews and Danielle Wyatt-Hodge opened the batting and put 56 between them before the former fell on 33 on the 37th ball. The hosts were well-placed at 68/1 at the halfway mark of their innings.
The second half completely belonged to Sunrisers Leeds. Kerr (13) and Wyatt-Hodge (29) were dismissed in a quick succession and MI London lost all the momentum. None of their other batters managed to get to double digits. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals and finished their innings on 107/8.
For Sunrisers, skipper Danielle Gibson (2/17), Hannah Baker (2/16) and Deepti Sharma (2/20) picked up two wickets apiece. The batters then stepped up and chased down the total comfortably with 7 wickets in hand and with 31 balls to spare.
Hero of the Match: Phoebe Litchfield
Phoebe Litchfield (Hero of the Match): "(Getting off to a winning start) Yeah, it's been great to get out here as a group, get out there in the field as our bowlers bowled extremely well. The batters went out there and we batted flawlessly which was really cool signs.
(What worked for the bowlers in the 1st Innings?) Yeah, as you pointed out, we backed up in the field as well. The lengths we bowled really, challenged the front foot. There was a bit of pop in it but when we adapted, rolled our fingers on the ball and just changed pace. Our spinners held their lines and lengths. We took our catches and it was a winning measure.
(Thoughts after losing a couple of early wickets in the run chase) Yeah, there was a silly run out as well. I think at the halfway, when you know you are batting at the Oval, a score less than 120-130 is really cool as you are in the game to chase it down. If you have a good start regardless of what you have in mind, you just play positively and try to get over the line. Once it gets under a run-a-ball in T20 cricket or Hundred cricket, you are licking your lips as a batting side.
(Plans ahead of the next game?) Ah, we will head back to Leeds tomorrow. Yeah, back home, get used to the conditions in Headingley and then get back to business."
(What worked for the bowlers in the 1st Innings?) Yeah, as you pointed out, we backed up in the field as well. The lengths we bowled really, challenged the front foot. There was a bit of pop in it but when we adapted, rolled our fingers on the ball and just changed pace. Our spinners held their lines and lengths. We took our catches and it was a winning measure.
(Thoughts after losing a couple of early wickets in the run chase) Yeah, there was a silly run out as well. I think at the halfway, when you know you are batting at the Oval, a score less than 120-130 is really cool as you are in the game to chase it down. If you have a good start regardless of what you have in mind, you just play positively and try to get over the line. Once it gets under a run-a-ball in T20 cricket or Hundred cricket, you are licking your lips as a batting side.
(Plans ahead of the next game?) Ah, we will head back to Leeds tomorrow. Yeah, back home, get used to the conditions in Headingley and then get back to business."
Danielle Gibson (Sunrisers Leeds Women Captain): "[On the win] I think it was a great start for us. Glad that we were able to get out there as a team with the ball. I think we bowled really well, kept our lines, and adapted to what the pitch was doing. It was a bit uneven. It was bouncing quite a lot sometimes, and sometimes keeping low. But I think we bowled really well, fielded, backed up our bowlers, and then obviously with the bat, just finished it off nicely.
[On her captaincy] No, I haven't done it a whole lot. It was fun. I really enjoyed it. I've got such a great group around me to help me out. I've got Bowsy (Bryony Smith) as my vice captain, so I've got so many people to bounce ideas off. I really enjoyed it, and I'm excited for a good competition ahead.
[About the squad] I think obviously sometimes there can be too many chefs, but today was a great balance. I've got JJ (Jess Jonassen), who's got so much experience, Crossy (Kate Cross), and Lizelle Lee behind the stumps helping manage the fielders and the angles. So I'm very lucky to have a great team around me.
[Toss win. Was that an advantage?] Potentially, yes, a little bit. I think both teams just wanted to get out there and see how the tournament was going to go. First game nerves, get them out of the way, and just be out there as an 11. So yeah, I'm grateful that we won the toss.
[On Annabel Sutherland and Phoebe Litchfield] Two Aussies, obviously unbelievable off the back of a successful World Cup. It's great to have them in form and playing in our team.
[On their bowling attack] Great! I think it just makes the batters have to keep adapting to different bowlers, and we can play around with what's working and see what the pitch is doing.
[Her role as captain] I think most people know I'm not very serious, so I'm trying to keep that bubbly side.
[On coach] Adrien Birell, our head coach, is very funny, so he takes the lead mostly with the team chats. But yeah, nothing too heavy; quite like to keep it chilled, and then everyone can touch base with the coaches.
[On Kate Cross' injury] I think we'll see how she pulls up over the next couple of days and go from there. But great fielding from her, great bowling, so good impetus.
[On the price tag] It's not really been mentioned since I joined up with the team. I think it happened a long time ago, so I was able to get my head around it, figure out how I wanted to view it, and play with the pressure. I had some really good conversations around what was affecting me with the price tag, but at the end of the day, I'm a cricketer and I got picked for my skills. I'm just really trying to push that aside and play cricket.
[On allowing 4 overseas players in the XI] I think it's great; just more experience. The younger girls coming through get to learn from the best players around the world. I think it's great that we can play four now.
[On the trophy] I think it's nice to have two teams playing towards one aim. It's been great to get to know the boys and see if they can help us out, because they've got so much experience and have played so much cricket. It's been a busy period for the women's game. The Aussies only came in on the 19th or 20th, so they had two days to prepare. But we've played so much cricket; everyone knows what they're doing, and it's just trying to gel as a team. I think we did that well today."
[On her captaincy] No, I haven't done it a whole lot. It was fun. I really enjoyed it. I've got such a great group around me to help me out. I've got Bowsy (Bryony Smith) as my vice captain, so I've got so many people to bounce ideas off. I really enjoyed it, and I'm excited for a good competition ahead.
[About the squad] I think obviously sometimes there can be too many chefs, but today was a great balance. I've got JJ (Jess Jonassen), who's got so much experience, Crossy (Kate Cross), and Lizelle Lee behind the stumps helping manage the fielders and the angles. So I'm very lucky to have a great team around me.
[Toss win. Was that an advantage?] Potentially, yes, a little bit. I think both teams just wanted to get out there and see how the tournament was going to go. First game nerves, get them out of the way, and just be out there as an 11. So yeah, I'm grateful that we won the toss.
[On Annabel Sutherland and Phoebe Litchfield] Two Aussies, obviously unbelievable off the back of a successful World Cup. It's great to have them in form and playing in our team.
[On their bowling attack] Great! I think it just makes the batters have to keep adapting to different bowlers, and we can play around with what's working and see what the pitch is doing.
[Her role as captain] I think most people know I'm not very serious, so I'm trying to keep that bubbly side.
[On coach] Adrien Birell, our head coach, is very funny, so he takes the lead mostly with the team chats. But yeah, nothing too heavy; quite like to keep it chilled, and then everyone can touch base with the coaches.
[On Kate Cross' injury] I think we'll see how she pulls up over the next couple of days and go from there. But great fielding from her, great bowling, so good impetus.
[On the price tag] It's not really been mentioned since I joined up with the team. I think it happened a long time ago, so I was able to get my head around it, figure out how I wanted to view it, and play with the pressure. I had some really good conversations around what was affecting me with the price tag, but at the end of the day, I'm a cricketer and I got picked for my skills. I'm just really trying to push that aside and play cricket.
[On allowing 4 overseas players in the XI] I think it's great; just more experience. The younger girls coming through get to learn from the best players around the world. I think it's great that we can play four now.
[On the trophy] I think it's nice to have two teams playing towards one aim. It's been great to get to know the boys and see if they can help us out, because they've got so much experience and have played so much cricket. It's been a busy period for the women's game. The Aussies only came in on the 19th or 20th, so they had two days to prepare. But we've played so much cricket; everyone knows what they're doing, and it's just trying to gel as a team. I think we did that well today."
That's it from all of us for this game. Sunrisers Leeds outplay MI London in the opening game of Women's Hundred 2026. Now, the men's sides will face each other at the same venue shortly. Do switch tabs to follow live-action. For now, this is Akshay Bhide, signing off, on behalf of my co-commentator Pritam Dey, scorers Paras Yadav and Manish Bishnoi and statistician Aman.