After this performance, Sunrisers are looking like the team to beat despite Rockets finishing top of the table, and a win on Sunday would secure back-to-back Hundred titles for the Headingley-based franchise (formerly Northern Superchargers).
It was not the most eye-catching chase, but after Brave’s dire batting effort, it did not need to be – they simply needed to get the job done, especially after Wong’s late burst.
Despite such a positive start to the tournament with five straight wins, Brave ended the group stage with three defeats, in contrast to Sunrisers’ four-match winning streak and the gulf in confidence was clear.
Lee was the only batter to attack, having successfully overturned when given out lbw on 16 thanks to a thin edge, while Bouchier, Wolvaardt and Molineux were all kept in check by Sunrisers’ accuracy. They did not bowl a single wide, which is only the 12th time that has happened in 238 full innings in the history of The Hundred.
Young leg-spinner Hannah Baker was the star with a miserly 2-13, and while it was a fine all-round bowling effort, the Brave batters failed to live up to their name and offered little in terms of proactiveness.
Sunrisers will also take plenty of confidence from it being a relatively comfortable chase without contributions from either of their Australian superstars in Phoebe Litchfield and Annabel Sutherland, who made four and 17 respectively.
The lack of run-rate pressure meant Winfield-Hill, who previously captained Oval Invincibles on this ground, and Sharma could withstand Bell’s metronomic spell before she the forer was bowled by Wong’s brilliant slower ball.
Wong’s average pace throughout her spell was 70mph, her quickest in the tournament, but the wicket ball was 11mph slower and breathed life into a previously flat contest.
But Sunrisers’ batting depth was the key as Sharma and Jonassen, who opened earlier in the tournament before swapping with Litchfield, barely broke sweat in withstanding the pressure Wong had built.
