Southern Brave edge past Manchester Originals in thriller

Reece Topley, the No. 11 batter, cracked a boundary off the penultimate ball of the run chase to help Southern Brave secure a stunning one-wicket win in their opening encounter of The Hundred, on Thursday. Brave overhauled Manchester Originals' total of 131 for 4 with one ball to spare.

After Sonny Baker had cleaned up James Vince early in the chase, Leus du Plooy and Jason Roy put on a steady 32-run stand for the second wicket. However, with the required rate climbing, Brave batters were forced to push the accelerator. Laurie Evans hit a couple of lusty blows, but attempts to go for the big shots backfired.

Scott Currie ripped through the middle-order with four strikes, while Noor Ahmad joined in with a brace as Brave slid from 65 for 2 to 104 for 8, in a space of 35 balls. Needing 28 runs off the last 13 balls, Tymal Mills carved Currier over sweeper cover for a six. Craig Overton joined in right after, tonking Baker over long on. His charge was aided by Currie, who dropped him off the next ball and helped the ball past the boundary line.

With three runs needed off three balls, Currie held on to a catch to dismiss Mills and take the game to the last wicket. However, Topley's first-ball boundary ended the worries for Brave.

Earlier in the day, Manchester Originals, who were put in to to bat, had posted a competitive score courtesy Phil Salt's 41-ball 60. After losing Matthew Hurst early, Salt and Buttler added 48 runs for the second wicket. Heinrich Klaasen struggled to get going in the middle overs, but Mark Chapman's breezy 22-ball 12 provided the much-needed late flourish in Originals' innings.

Mills returned three wickets, while Bracewell and James Coles kept a check on the scoring through the middle period.

Brief Scores: Manchester Originals 131/4 in 100 balls (Phil Salt 60, Mark Chapman 22; Tymal Mills 3-22, Craig Overton 1-28) lost to Southern Brave 133/9 in 99 balls (Jason Roy 30, Leus du Plooy 25; Scott Currie 4-28, Noor Ahmad 2-21) by 1 wicket