Sunrisers Leeds, formerly known as Northern Superchargers, will make their third final appearance in the 2026 Women’s Hundred. Unlike their opponents, Trent Rockets, Sunrisers Leeds have endured a challenging and inconsistent campaign on their way to the final.
They played their first match against MI London, where they won comfortably by seven wickets with 31 balls remaining. Bowling first, Dani Gibson, Hannah Baker and Deepti Sharma took two wickets each, with the other bowlers chipping in. Chasing a target of 108, Annabel Sutherland and Phoebe Litchfield formed a crucial partnership of 57 runs, helping their team secure a win.
After starting their campaign with a win, SRL suffered a string of losses. They lost a close match against Southern Brave, where they failed to defend four runs from the last five balls, with Brave completing the chase with four balls to spare.
They proceeded to lose the next two matches against Manchester Super Giants and Trent Rockets.
The two matches against Manchester Super Giants followed very different scripts. In the first encounter, it went down to the wire, with Jess Jonassen coming into the attack when MSG needed 16 runs from 10 balls. Smriti Mandhana then finished the chase in style to seal a close win for the Super Giants.
The second meeting was a completely different story. Annabel Sutherland played a crucial knock of 62 off 36 balls, with valuable contributions from the other batters, helping Leeds post 167. In reply, Leeds’ bowling unit produced a strong collective performance. Deepti Sharma picked up two wickets, Jonassen took three, while Sutherland added two more as they restricted MSG to 125/8. Leeds completed a convincing 41-run victory. This victory eventually helped SRL qualify for the Eliminator against Southern Brave.
Against Trent Rockets, SRL failed to score 17 runs from the final five balls, which resulted in their loss. With three consecutive losses, SRL were in a difficult position.
SRL bounced back against London Spirits and carried that winning momentum forward from there. Sharma, Gibson, Sutherland and Baker took wickets and restricted Spirits to 136. In response, Bryony Smith, Phoebe Litchfield, Sutherland and Gibson played important knocks, helping SRL chase down the target with two balls remaining.
The remaining four matches were comfortable wins for SRL, as they continued to assert their dominance.
Against Birmingham Phoenix, SRL chased down the target of 107 with 31 balls to spare. Sharma played a key role with three important wickets, while the rest of the bowling attack also contributed. Litchfield then made the chase a comfortable one, smashing an unbeaten 71 off just 33 balls.
The match against Welsh Fire was another comfortable outing for SRL, with Deepti Sharma once again making an impact with three wickets, well supported by the rest of the bowling attack. The pattern from the Phoenix game was repeated as Litchfield took charge with the bat, smashing 55 off 25 balls to guide her team to another victory.
In the Eliminator against Southern Brave, Sunrisers Leeds’ bowlers once again delivered, restricting Brave to 114/7. During the chase, Deepti Sharma and Jess Jonassen stayed at the crease and guided Leeds home with 11 balls to spare. The win booked Leeds a place in the final.
Sunrisers Leeds’ journey to the final has been anything but straightforward. After a difficult start, they found their rhythm at the right time, with their bowlers and key batters consistently stepping up. Their Eliminator win over Southern Brave underlined their ability to handle pressure, setting up a final clash against Trent Rockets where they will look to finish their campaign with the trophy in hand.
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