London Spirit secured their first-ever victory in The Hundred with a nail-biting four-wicket win over Welsh Fire in the women’s final at Lord’s.
Chasing a modest target of 116, the match came down to the wire with London Spirit needing four runs from the last three deliveries. Deepti Sharma emerged as the hero, sending Hayley Matthews’ delivery soaring over long-on for a six, sealing the win in dramatic fashion.
The outcome could have been entirely different if not for a pivotal moment when the ball slipped through the hands of Fire’s bowler Shabnim Ismail, allowing it to clear the boundary.
Ismail had been on track to be the star for Welsh Fire, delivering an impressive 3-24 performance that included the crucial dismissals of Meg Lanning, Heather Knight, and Danielle Gibson, keeping her team in the hunt.
However, Deepti’s powerful strike proved to be too much, earning London Spirit the trophy on their home turf.
Earlier in the match, Knight’s squad appeared to be in control after an outstanding bowling performance. England spinners Sarah Glenn and Charlie Dean spearheaded the attack, limiting Welsh Fire to 115-8, despite a resilient half-century from Australian all-rounder Jess Jonassen.
As the pressure mounted during the chase, London Spirit began to falter, but Danielle Gibson injected momentum by hitting five boundaries in her first six balls. Yet, when she was bowled by Ismail and opener Georgia Redmayne was dismissed lbw by Freya Davies, the game was on a knife-edge until Deepti’s decisive blow with just two balls remaining.