KKR's benched star smashes 38-ball 72 in final, leads Buttler's Manchester Super Giants to maiden The Hundred title

New Zealand opener Tim Seifert smashed seven sixes in run chase against Trent Rockets to lead Manchester Super Giants to their maiden The Hundred Men's Competition title. With skipper Aiden Markram leaving the tournament midway due to personal reasons, Jos Buttler took over Manchester Super Giants who won the final with five wickets in hand and two balls to spare at Lord's, London, on August 16.

Seifert goes berserk

In the run chase, Seifert started off with a boundary on the first ball bowled by Mohammed Amir. Then, after two dot balls, he hit Amir for a six and a four. Paul Walter and Seifert looked to kill the run chase early. The partnership was broken by Calvin Harrison with Walter's wicket. The opener scored 22 runs from 14 deliveries. Seifert hit Harrison for a six to reach his fifty from just 23 balls, the fastest in The Hundred final.

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Amir makes comeback but Super Giants win thriller

Skipper Buttler hit Harrison for two consecutive sixes before getting caught at long-off. He scored 23 runs from 14 balls. When Manchester Super Giants needed 25 off 25 balls, Amir was brought back into the attack. He delivered with Seifert's wicket. The opener departed for a 38-ball 72, featuring seven sixes and eight fours. Amir finished his spell with wickets of Heinrich Klaasen and Michael Bracewell. Three runs were needed off the final three deliveries when Liam Dawson smashed Ben Sanderson for a maximum to finish the run chase.

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Cameos power Rockets to 158/8

Earlier, Buttler won the toss and opted to bowl first. Finn Allen departed early. Noor Ahmad dismissed both openers Allen and Ben Duckett. Aneurin Donald contributed with a 19-ball 38. He got bowled by Dawson. Then, skipper Sam Billings was run out. Ahmad got the prized wicket of Tim David as well. Lewis Gregory pushed the scoring rate with a 16-ball 32 featuring three sixes. Craig Overton smashed two boundaries before falling to Sonny Baker. Meanwhile, Mitchell Santner remained unbeaten for a 16-ball 20, taking Trent Rockets to 158/8.

Seifert, the MVP

Seifert was named 'Player of the match' and 'MVP of the Tournament'. Seifert finished as the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament. He scored 394 runs from 10 innings, averaging 49.25. He scored at a strike rate of 168.37. Including the final, he scored five fifties, most by any batter in the season.