Phoebe Litchfield, Deepti Sharma Star as Sunrisers Leeds Beat MI London in The Hundred Opener

Sunrisers Leeds start title defence with a bang. Seven-wicket win over MI London

The Hundred 2026 officially got underway, and the defending champions, now known as Sunrisers Leeds Women, picked up where they left off. They started their campaign in style at The Kia Oval in London, cruising to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over MI London Women.

A Dramatic Collapse Mid-Innings

For a moment it looked as if MI London were going to run away with the game. Openers Hayley Matthews and Danni Wyatt-Hodge came out all guns blazing, scoring 50 runs without losing a single wicket in just 34 balls and cruising to 68/1 at the halfway stage.

MI London seemed untouchable, but Sunrisers bowled them out of the game. The turnaround started with a brilliant spell from Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma, who returned figures of 2/20, choking the runs in the middle phase. Captain Dani Gibson also contributed, picking up two crucial wickets as MI London lost their way from a position of strength to 107-8 from their 100 balls.

Phoebe Litchfield takes stylish win

Chasing a target of 108 shouldn’t have been too stressful, but Sunrisers Leeds did have a couple of early bumps in the road. Enter Phoebe Litchfield.

The Australian star showed class with her composure, coolly finding the boundary with ease. She blasted an undefeated 43 off just 26 balls to guide the defending champions to victory with a massive 31 balls to spare, picking up the Player of the Match award for her match-winning knock.

Sunrisers Leeds secured their first win and return home to Headingley to face Southern Brave Women, while MI London will look to regroup to face Welsh Fire in Cardiff.