'Champions in our very first season' - Sanjiv Goenka hails Manchester Super Giants after Hundred title win at Lord's

Manchester Super Giants were crowned Men's Hundred champions at Lord's on August 16, 2026, defeating Trent Rockets by five wickets with two balls remaining. Trent Rockets had posted 158 for 8, and the Super Giants knocked off the target to claim their first Hundred title.

It was also the first time either Manchester franchise, men's or women's, had won a Hundred trophy, ending a wait for silverware that had stretched across seven IPL seasons and four SA20 editions without success. RPSG Group owner Sanjiv Goenka took to social media shortly after the final to share his reaction.

"Champions in our very first season! @ManchesterSG100. What a night it has been at Lord's, a proud moment for all of us in the Super Giants family. This was a team effort from the first game to the last. Tim, what an innings. Noor, a brilliant spell with the ball and wickets at the times we needed them. Jos has led from the front all season, and the way the whole squad came together through the knockouts is what turned this season around. Congratulations to Jos and to every player who made this happen. And a special thank you to our supporters, you willed this team on all the way. This one is for you," wrote Goenka on X.

Tim Seifert's match-winning innings in the final

Tim Seifert was the standout performer in the final, striking seven sixes in a 38-ball 72 to guide the chase. He was named the tournament's Meerkat Match Hero award winner. Seifert was also the season's second-highest run-scorer and struck four half-centuries during the Super Giants' winning run. Notably, he had never played at Lord's until a month before the final, yet struck 67 off 45 balls on his Super Giants debut against London Spirit in the opening game of the season.

Super Giants' route to the title

The Super Giants' path to the title was far from smooth. They lost three successive group matches and were on the brink of elimination before winning five games in a row to lift the trophy. The turnaround coincided with Jos Buttler taking over the captaincy after Aiden Markram returned home for personal reasons. Paul Walter's promotion to the top of the order in Markram's absence also proved significant, with Walter scoring 247 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 179 during that run.

In the Eliminator at The Oval on August 14, the Super Giants beat Sunrisers Leeds by 20 runs. Walter contributed 80 off 46 balls and Heinrich Klaasen added 63 off 26 as the Super Giants posted 186 for 4. Josh Tongue took four wickets for 26 runs as Sunrisers Leeds were restricted to 166 for 7 in reply, setting up the Lord's final two days later.