At the iconic Lord's, third time proved the charm for the Manchester Super Giants (formerly Manchester Originals) as they claimed their maiden Men's Hundred title with a thrilling five-wicket victory, denying top-placed Trent Rockets a historic double.

Having suffered final defeats in 2022 to the Rockets and 2023 to the Oval Invincibles, the Super Giants finally lifted the trophy courtesy a sensational match-winning knock from Tim Seifert, who slammed 72 in 38 balls to kill the chase.

Rockets build then collapse

After the Super Giants put the Rockets in, Finn Allen and Ben Duckett built a steady 48-run opening stand against the pace trio of Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue, and Sonny Baker. Jos Buttler then introduced Afghanistan wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad, who broke the game open by removing both openers within four balls.

Aneurin Donald immediately counterattacked, smashing 17 off his first six balls from Ahmad before falling for a 19-ball 38. A sudden collapse to 97-5 put the Rockets on the backfoot, but Lewis Gregory and Mitchell Santner orchestrated a crucial late-overs rescue.

Gregory launched Liam Dawson and Atkinson for successive maximums, pushing Trent to 158-8 thanks to a fiery 61-run haul off the final 30 balls. The total was well above the venue par of 141 this season.

Seifert's heroics seal the trophy

MSG were off the blocks quickly as Seifert took 14 off Mohammad Amir's opening five balls. Alongside Paul Walter, Seifert stitched a 61-run stand that came in just 31 deliveries. He brought up his half-century off just 23 balls, eventually finishing with 72 off 38 - including seven maximums - to claim Tournament MVP honors with the second-best run tally of 394.

As the New Zealander held one end, helpful cameos came at the other with skipper Buttler hammering three sixes in his 14-ball 23 and Leus du Plooy hitting four boundaries in his unbeaten 27 off 18 deliveries.

Seifert fell when MSG needed 23 off 22 balls, and a couple of late wickets kept the game alive until the last set. Heinrich Klaasen fell to a spectacular Donald catch, and Michael Bracewell departed second ball for a duck. With the game tumbling into the final-five, Liam Dawson kept his cool, launching Ben Sanderson over midwicket for a title-clinching six with two balls to spare.

Brief scores

Trent Rockets 158/8 in 100 balls (Aneurin Donald 38, Lewis Gregory 32, Ben Duckett 31; Noor Ahmad 3-33, Sonny Baker 2-34) lost to Manchester Super Giants 162/5 in 98 balls (Tim Seifert 72; Mohammad Amir 3-29, Calvin Harrison 2-30) by 5 wickets.