Manchester Super Giants Edge London Spirit in Lord's Thriller Despite Liam Livingstone's Heroics

Manchester Super Giants held their nerve to secure a dramatic seven-run victory over London Spirit in a thrilling men's Hundred 2026 contest at Lord's, overcoming a valiant all-round performance from Spirit captain Liam Livingstone.

In front of a crowd of 23,847, the Super Giants successfully defended 138 for 9, restricting London Spirit to 131 for 6 in a contest that went down to the final five balls. England fast bowlers Gus Atkinson and Sonny Baker played decisive roles at the death, sharing four wickets between them and delivering under pressure to deny the hosts.

Chasing 139, London Spirit found themselves under early pressure after losing three wickets inside the first 46 balls. Livingstone and South African batter Dewald Brevis then rebuilt the innings with a composed partnership before accelerating in the closing stages.

With 56 runs required from the final 30 balls, Livingstone shifted gears, taking on spinner Noor Ahmad with a flurry of boundaries that included his trademark leg-side sweep. The England all-rounder reached his half-century from just 32 balls and continued to keep Spirit in the hunt with powerful hitting, bringing the equation down to 21 runs from the final 10 deliveries.

However, Atkinson swung the momentum back in Manchester's favour by dismissing the dangerous Brevis with a sharp caught-and-bowled effort. Needing 12 from the final five balls, Livingstone remained Spirit's last hope, but Baker produced a pinpoint full delivery that crashed into the stumps, ending the captain's superb innings of 69 from 40 balls, which featured five sixes.

Earlier, Manchester Super Giants owed much of their total to opener Tim Seifert, who marked his Hundred debut with a fluent 67 off 45 balls. Seifert anchored the innings as the visitors recovered from a cautious start to reach 105 for 2 after 67 balls.

Despite appearing set for a much bigger total, Manchester suffered a dramatic collapse, losing seven wickets for just 33 runs to finish on 138 for 9. Livingstone played a major role in restricting the damage, bowling 20 of the final 25 deliveries and returning outstanding figures of 2 for 14.

Although his all-round display was not enough to inspire victory, Livingstone was named the Meerkat Match Hero for his efforts.

"It was a really good game of cricket on a very good wicket. It's just a shame we fell short," Livingstone said after the match.

"It was never the plan for me to bowl 20 of the last 25 balls, but it was working, so we stuck with it. The pitch was a little up and down, and we felt they were around par. We just got a bit too far behind the required rate."

The Spirit skipper praised his side's bowling performance, which helped claw the game back after Seifert's dominance.

"We bowled really well through the middle and dragged things back towards the end. We nearly chased it down. Historically, chasing isn't easy at Lord's, so there are positives we can take and something to build on," he added.

The victory gives Manchester Super Giants a winning start to their men's Hundred campaign, while London Spirit will take encouragement from Livingstone's all-round brilliance despite falling just short in a gripping contest.