Manchester Super Giants edge past London Spirit despite Livingstone special

Manchester Super Giants survived a Liam Livingstone special to edge past London Spirit by 7 runs in a pulsating contest at Lord’s, where Gus Atkinson and Sonny Baker held their nerve at the death to seal victory in a dramatic finish.

Chasing 139, Spirit looked to be slipping out of the contest after losing three wickets inside the first 46 balls. But Livingstone and Dewald Brevis pieced together a measured recovery before exploding into life at the business end. With 56 needed off the last 30 balls, the game was evenly poised and the momentum kept changing hands.

Livingstone took charge against Noor Ahmad, smashing 12 from the spinner’s final five deliveries, including a trademark sweep over the leg side. He then brought up a 32-ball half-century with another slog sweep for six before drilling a boundary through extra cover to leave Spirit within touching distance.

With 21 required from the final 10 balls, however, Atkinson delivered the decisive blow. The England quick mixed his pace superbly and dismissed Brevis with a sharp return catch to leave Spirit needing 12 off the final five deliveries.

The responsibility then fell on fellow England seamer Sonny Baker. After conceding a single and a quick two, Baker produced the moment that settled the contest, beating Livingstone with a full, rapid ball that crashed into the stumps. Livingstone trudged off for a 40-ball 69 and his exit effectively ended Spirit’s hopes as Manchester closed out a memorable win.

Earlier, Tim Seifert laid the foundation for the Super Giants with a sparkling 67 off 45 deliveries on his Hundred debut. The New Zealand opener anchored the innings after a slow start and guided his side to 105 for 2 after 67 balls. But what looked set to become a commanding total unravelled spectacularly as Spirit’s bowlers triggered a collapse of seven wickets for just 33 runs, restricting Manchester to 138 for 9.

Livingstone played a central role in that turnaround as well. The Spirit captain bowled 20 of the final 25 deliveries of the innings, returning figures of 2 for 14 to drag his side back into the contest before almost completing the job with the bat. His knock with the bat, featuring five sixes, kept Spirit alive until the very end, but Atkinson and Baker combined to deny him a match-winning finish.

Brief Scores: Manchester Super Giants 138/9 in 100 balls (Tim Seifert 67; Liam Livingstone 2-14, Adam Zampa 2-27) beat London Spirit 131/6 in 100 balls (Liam Livingstone 69; Gus Atkinson 2-15, Sonny Baker 2-29) by 7 runs.