Sunrisers Leeds Defend Their Crown: 41-Run Win at Old Trafford Sends Manchester Super Giants Crashing Out
Sunrisers Leeds kept their title defence alive and ended Manchester Super Giants' tournament with a 41-run win at Old Trafford on 11 August 2026. The result sent the defending champions through to the Eliminator and knocked Manchester out of The Hundred entirely.
In The Hundred, each team faces 100 balls per innings and the Eliminator is the knockout tie that decides who advances to the final. Sunrisers Leeds, who won the competition last year, now face Southern Brave on Friday 14 August for a place in the showpiece match.
For Manchester Super Giants, the defeat closes the book on their campaign. Whatever momentum they carried from earlier results could not carry them past a Leeds side that knew only a win would do.
Both sides have history in this tournament. Manchester's men won at Lord's by seven runs in July 2025 and followed up with an 87-run victory at Emirates Old Trafford later that month. Their women's side also had strong moments, winning at Lord's by seven wickets and at Headingley by four wickets.
Sunrisers Leeds had their own highlights from the 2025 season. Their men won a tight one at Headingley by five runs and then a more comfortable eight-wicket victory at the same ground. The women's side claimed a seven-wicket win at The Kia Oval.
Those results, though, belong to last summer. What mattered at Old Trafford was the here and now. Leeds needed the win to survive. They got it by 41 runs.
What makes this result so significant is the pressure attached to it. A must-win match for the defending champions carries its own weight. Add the fact that the losers go home and the stakes sharpen further. Leeds handled it; Manchester did not.
For fans, the Eliminator on 14 August is the next chapter. Tickets remain available but limited, according to the tournament's official site. Southern Brave will provide the opposition, and the winner moves one step closer to lifting the trophy.
Leeds have been here before. They know what it takes to go all the way. Whether they can do it again against a fresh opponent, with the pressure of a knockout format, is the question that Friday will answer.
