Birmingham Phoenix Knock MI London Out as SunRisers Leeds Reach Eliminator

Birmingham Phoenix ended MI London's hopes of a fourth consecutive title despite suffering a narrow two-run defeat in their final group-stage match, a result that sent SunRisers Leeds into the Eliminator.

MI London posted 157 for 6 after being asked to bat first, but they needed a victory by at least 59 runs to leapfrog SunRisers Leeds into third place and secure a playoff spot.

The defending champions made an encouraging start as Birmingham Phoenix slipped to three wickets down during the powerplay. Sikandar Raza dismissed Joe Clarke, while Richard Gleeson removed Mitchell Owen and Laurie Evans with consecutive deliveries. Gleeson finished with 2 for 29 and moved to the top of the tournament's wicket-taking charts with 14 dismissals.

MI London's hopes of completing the required margin, however, quickly faded as Joe Weatherley and Sean Dickson rebuilt the Phoenix innings. When a Tom Curran wide took Birmingham Phoenix to 99, MI London's qualification hopes were officially ended.

Dickson made 23 from 17 balls before Sam Curran trapped him lbw, while Weatherley fell for a well-made 42 off 31. Jordan Thompson and Rehan Ahmed then launched a late assault, scoring 23 not out from 13 and 23 from 11 respectively.

Trent Boult held his nerve in the final overs, producing a series of accurate yorkers to ensure MI London secured only a two-run win.

Earlier, MI London made a brisk start through Will Jacks and James Vince. Jacks fell after slicing Chris Wood to deep point, while Vince struck 22 from 12 balls before Tom Helm bowled him with a back-of-the-hand slower delivery.

Nicholas Pooran provided the fireworks with 36 from 21 balls, including two boundaries off consecutive deliveries against Helm. But Rehan Ahmed then changed the momentum, dismissing Sam Curran with a googly and conceding just three runs from his first 10 deliveries, including six successive dot balls.

Rehan later removed Jason Roy for 26, finishing with outstanding figures of 2 for 7 from 15 balls. Pooran was dismissed by Thompson after holing out to long-off, while late contributions from Raza, Ollie Sykes and Tom Curran lifted MI London to 157 for 6.

Despite winning five matches, MI London were eliminated because their net run rate was insufficient, while SunRisers Leeds advanced to the Eliminator.

SunRisers Leeds will face Manchester Super Giants at the Kia Oval on Friday, with the winner earning a place in the final at Lord's against Trent Rockets.

Richard Gleeson, named Meerkat Match Hero, summed up MI London's disappointment: "To win five games and not qualify when two teams have done the same as us is disappointing." He added that the result highlighted the competitiveness of the tournament, where even a difference of 30, 40 or 50 runs can prove decisive.