Verified. One correction to flag: the margin was **four wickets** (MI London 164-6 chasing 161, won with six balls to spare), not six — the “six” in the brief conflates with Raza’s three sixes / the six balls to spare. I’ve written it to the accurate scoreline.
London Spirit’s stay in the men’s Hundred is over. A four-wicket defeat by local rivals MI London at Lord’s on Wednesday, sealed with six balls to spare, made the home side the first team to be mathematically eliminated from the knockout race in the 2026 men’s competition.
Set 161 to win, MI London reached 164 for 6, with Sikandar Raza’s late assault the decisive blow. In front of a record group-stage crowd of 27,721, Spirit posted a competitive 160 for 5 built on Lhuan-dre Pretorius’s 52, but could not defend it on their own ground — and now cannot climb into the top three with matches remaining.
How the match slipped away
Spirit’s innings had promised more than it delivered. Pretorius, the young South African opener, struck 52 at the top before Will Jacks ended his innings with a sensational hopping boundary catch, timing his leap to pluck the ball back from beyond the rope. David Willey chipped in with 31 and Jordan Cox’s Coles struck an unbeaten 30, but the middle overs lacked the acceleration a total on this ground demanded.
MI London’s chase was steadied by Nicholas Pooran, whose 39 anchored the reply, and captain Sam Curran, who made 33 to keep the required rate in check. When wickets fell in a cluster, the equation tightened — but Raza settled it in the space of a few deliveries.
- London Spirit: 160-5 — Pretorius 52, Willey 31, Coles 30*
- MI London: 164-6 — Pooran 39, Curran 33, Raza 32
- Result: MI London won by four wickets, six balls to spare
Raza’s cameo was the innings in miniature. He heaved his first, fourth and seventh balls for six, each one draining the tension from the run chase and turning a nervy pursuit into a procession. From needing to accelerate, MI London suddenly needed only to finish, and they did so with an over to spare.
What elimination means for Spirit
Since the men’s Hundred launched in 2021, London Spirit have never reached a final, and this campaign has followed a familiar pattern of promising phases undone by inconsistency. Elimination at the group stage — and being the first side confirmed out — is a blunt verdict on a squad that, on paper, carries the batting depth to trouble anyone.
The manner of Wednesday’s defeat will sting most. Losing a London derby at Lord’s, the competition’s showpiece venue and Spirit’s home, in front of a record crowd is precisely the fixture the franchise is built to win. Instead, they surrendered a defendable total and watched a rival celebrate on their turf.
Liam Livingstone’s side must now play out their remaining fixtures as spoilers rather than contenders. For a team backed to be among the tournament’s strongest on recruitment alone, another early exit raises pointed questions about how those resources have been assembled and deployed.
MI London surge, and the wider picture
For MI London, the win is a significant step towards the knockouts and a statement of intent from a side blending international power hitters with sharp local talent. Pooran and Curran offer a spine most franchises would envy, while Raza’s ability to change a game in three swings gives them a finisher who thrives precisely when matches are in the balance.
The result also underlined the format’s unforgiving arithmetic. With every team playing a compressed schedule, a single flat batting display or a five-minute collapse can end a campaign; Spirit’s exit is the first, but with the table tightening it is unlikely to be the last dramatic swing of this group stage.
The Hundred was designed to reward fearless cricket, and Wednesday delivered a clean illustration of the point. Spirit played the safer hand and came up short by a boundary’s margin; MI London gambled on Raza’s power and were rewarded. As the men’s competition moves towards its business end, that contrast — caution punished, aggression backed — is the lesson the surviving sides will carry into the run-in.
**Sources:** [ESPNcricinfo match report](https://www.cricinfo.com/series/the-hundred-men-s-competition-2026-1521176/london-spirit-men-vs-mi-london-men-23rd-match-1521253/match-report) · [Yardbarker (Jacks catch)](https://www.yardbarker.com/cricket/articles/watch_will_jacks_pulls_off_a_sensational_hopping_boundary_catch_to_dismiss_lhuan_dre_pretorius_as_mi_london_beat_london_spirit_in_the_hundred_mens_2026/s1_17756_44146736)
A note on the brief: it stated a “six-wicket defeat,” but the verified result is a **four-wicket** win for MI London (164-6 chasing 161, six balls to spare). I wrote the article to the accurate margin. Want me to adjust length or tone?
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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