Playing at The Kia Oval, Super Giants posted an imposing 186-4 from their 100 balls before restricting Sunrisers to 166-7. Walter’s powerful 80 from 46 balls set the platform, while England seamer Josh Tongue claimed outstanding figures of 4-26 to dismantle the chase.
The victory sends Super Giants into Sunday’s final at Lord’s, where they will face Trent Rockets.
Walter’s Breakthrough Knock Sets the Tone
Few would have predicted that an Essex all-rounder, signed for just £31,000 in the auction, would steal the headlines on a night featuring international stars such as Jos Buttler, Heinrich Klaasen, Mitch Marsh and Harry Brook.
Walter had not featured in Super Giants’ first five games of the campaign. He only entered the side at the top of the order after South Africa’s Aiden Markram returned home for personal reasons. Since then he has flourished, finishing the league stage with 225 runs in four innings at an average of 76 and a strike rate of 181.45.
Put into bat, Super Giants suffered an early setback when Tim Seifert fell to the second ball of the innings. Walter remained composed. He added 57 for the second wicket with Jos Buttler, who made a brisk 33 from 20 balls, before combining with the destructive Heinrich Klaasen in a match-defining partnership.
The pair smashed 114 runs from just 52 balls. Walter cleared the boundary eight times while Klaasen struck four sixes of his own in a brutal 63 from 26 deliveries. Klaasen eventually fell to Nathan Ellis, but by then Super Giants had already built a total that proved beyond Sunrisers’ reach.
Walter’s approach was simple and highly effective. Seventy-six per cent of his runs in the tournament have come on the leg side. He reached his fifty in just 29 balls, with Klaasen following shortly afterwards off 22 deliveries. Sunrisers’ seamers repeatedly bowled into his arc, forcing them to hide their spinners. Liam Patterson-White’s five balls were the only spin deliveries of the entire Super Giants innings.
Tongue Leads the Charge with the Ball
Sunrisers Leeds possessed one of the most powerful top orders in the competition, yet they never truly threatened the required rate under pressure.
Tournament leading run-scorer Mitch Marsh began aggressively with a six and a four before skying a catch to Sonny Baker for just 10. Captain Zak Crawley then wasted a review when he was given out lbw for six, a decision that later proved costly.
Harry Brook offered the most resistance, playing some trademark outrageous shots including an upper-cut over the keeper and a lofted six over extra cover. He reached 49 from 31 balls and kept Sunrisers’ hopes flickering until he was given out lbw attempting a reverse scoop. Replays showed the ball would have missed the stumps, but the review had already been used by Crawley.
Brook’s dismissal left Sunrisers needing 89 from the final 44 balls. The innings quickly unravelled. Tongue removed both Marsh and Crawley before combining with Sonny Baker to tear through the middle order. Baker finished with 2-39, while opener Ryan Rickelton was left stranded on an unbeaten 54 from 34 balls as the innings closed on 166-7.
Super Giants Advance to Lord’s Final
The result completes an impressive turnaround for Manchester Super Giants, who have found form at the business end of the competition. Walter’s unexpected emergence as a destructive opener has given the side a new dimension, while the bowling unit led by Tongue proved clinical under pressure.
Super Giants will now prepare for Sunday’s final against Trent Rockets at Lord’s, where they will bid to lift The Hundred title.
For Sunrisers Leeds, the campaign ends in disappointment despite a strong showing throughout the group stages. Their powerful batting line-up, which had been among the most feared in the tournament, was unable to cope with the scoreboard pressure created by Walter and Klaasen’s explosive partnership.
The men’s final takes place at Lord’s on Sunday, with Super Giants arriving in confident mood after a dominant performance in the Eliminator.