Lauren Bell holds nerve at death as Southern Brave win last-ball thriller

Southern Brave extended their dominance at the top of the points table with a narrow 1-run victory over winless MI London thanks to a spectacular offensive comeback by the team. MI appeared to be on track for their first win of the season, chasing a subpar 126, but Danni Wyatt-Hodge's unbeaten fifty was insufficient to propel them over the finish line. Put in to bat first, Brave put on 126 runs with handy 30-plus contributions from three of their top-four.However, regular strikes on either side of the 60-run stand between Jemimah Rodrigues and Laura Wolvaardt kept the run-scoring in check.The openers put on 22 runs in 20 balls before Tara Norris got MI the breakthrough with the wicket of Lizelle Lee. Maia Bouchier added another 22-run partnership with Wolvaardt before becoming Hayley Matthews' first victim on the day. Wolvaardt and Player of the Match Rodrigues then combined for a 60-run stand that injected some momentum in the Brave innings. The Indian, in particular, was the aggressor, scoring a brisk 32 off 22 shots and completing the round with three boundaries. By getting rid of Rodrigues, Matthews broke the stubborn stand and brought the hosts' score to 104/3. The wicket sucked the momentum out as Matthews struck twice more to keep Brave to 126/7. The early wickets Brave had hoped for did not materialize. Matthews also led with the bat, scoring 32 runs off 28 balls in a 42-run first stand with Wyatt-Hodge. When Issy Wong got rid of Matthews, the senior opener took over. She added 67 runs for the second-wicket partnership with skipper Hollie Armitage, contributing 40 off 27 to inject some momentum in the chase. Sarah Glenn broke the threatening stand, and a superb display of death bowling from there on left MI short. With a comfortable 18 required off 15 deliveries, MI promoted Chinelle Henry, but the Brave captain led from the front and cheaply dismissed the dangerous finisher. Brave conceded just one boundary at the backend, when MI's ask was 15 off nine and Lauren Bell held her nerve to defend seven off the last set to script a memorable win for the hosts.