Manchester Super Giants keep season alive with narrow win

Manchester Super Giants kept their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive with a nervy 10-run victory over Southern Brave, ending the hosts' chances of progressing while setting up a potentially decisive final game of the league stage against Sunrisers Leeds.

Paul Walter, playing only his second game of the tournament, provided the foundation for the Super Giants with a blistering 64 off 32 balls, smashing six fours and four sixes. Tim Seifert added 55 from 34 balls as the pair put on a dominant opening stand, taking the Super Giants to 119/0 in 63 balls.

The innings then unravelled dramatically. Seifert was run out by a direct hit from Moeen Ali before the Super Giants lost seven more wickets for just 30 runs. Moeen and Adil Rashid applied the squeeze through the final third, conceding only 38 runs between them, while Liam Dawson and Michael Bracewell, playing his first game as Aiden Markram's replacement, also played their part as Super Giants finished on 149 for 8.

Southern Brave found themselves under pressure early. Jamie Smith struggled to 26 from 25 balls, yet with 25 balls remaining, the hosts were still in the contest at 94 for 3.

Tristan Stubbs and Marcus Stoinis shifted the momentum with a flurry of sixes, bringing the equation down to 56 from 25 balls. Josh Tongue bowled a superb slower ball that deceived Stoinis, but Stubbs continued to attack, reaching a 37-ball fifty to leave Brave needing 40 from the final 12 balls.

David Miller's dismissal to an excellent tumbling catch from Leus du Plooy effectively ended the contest, although Nikhil Chaudhary's late hitting briefly gave the home crowd hope. Brave needed 19 from the final five balls, but Gus Atkinson held his nerve with a series of pinpoint yorkers to close out the win.

Brief Scores: Manchester Super Giants 149/8 in 100 balls (Paul Walter 64, Tim Seifert 55; Adil Rashid 2-17) beat Southern Brave 138/8 in 100 balls (Tristan Stubbs 53, Jamie Smith 26; Gus Atkinson 2-19) by 10 runs.