'That was CLOSE!'- Fans thrilled as London Spirit beat Oval Invincibles in a nail-biting thriller

In the second game of The Hundred 2022 at the Oval, London Spirit defeated Oval Invincibles in a nail-biting thriller by a margin of three runs. Spirit ended with 171, while Invincibles finished with 168 in reply. With this win, London earned two points in their first game of the season.

Sent in to bat first, London Spirit got some runs under their belt, but also kept losing a few wickets. Zak Crawley (21), Adam Rossington (14), and Glenn Maxwell (18) were all dismissed for a score of 55 in 36 balls. Eoin Morgan, along with Daniel Lawrance (27), tried to stabilize the innings for his team.

The team skipper was at his very best as he scored 47 runs in just 29 balls. He hit five fours and three sixes in his innings. Despite the poor performances of the remaining batters, London Spirit still managed to score 171 runs. For Oval Invincibles, Mohammad Hasnain and Sunil Narine each took two wickets.

At 12 for 4, Invincibles were in serious difficulty in their chase of a competitive score. The side then staged a comeback with a 74-run stand between Jordan Cox (39) and Hilton Cartwright (42) in just 48 balls. Cartwright, who hit two sixes and three boundaries, was the more aggressive of the two.

Despite losing Cartwright, Invincibles kept up a strong fight thanks to Tom Curran, who scored 27 off only 15 balls. To pull back the Spirits, however, Nathan Ellis and Liam Dawson worked together to eliminate Cox and Curran.

Danny Briggs (29) then took on the role of playing aggressively. He hit Chris Wood for a boundary and then used Jordan Thompson to hit a few more boundaries to reduce the situation to 9 off 3 balls. Invincibles, eventually, need 5 off 1 ball, but Sunil Narine was only able to scrape out one off a leg-bye.

After a poor season last time around, the Eoin Morgan-led side started the second season on a great note. They would want to continue that in the upcoming matches as well.

Here is how Twitter Reacted to their win

A breathtaking finish!

London Spirit hung on to beat Oval Invincibles in a thrilling clash which captivated the Oval crowd.

More ⬇️#BBCCricket #TheHundred

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 4, 2022

Just home from the oval. #TheHundred2022 #LondonSpirit well done lads but you didn’t make it easy. What a game 🤗

— jim whale (@gooner3472) August 4, 2022

Yay Morgie @Eoin16 you played sooo welll today! 🥳🥳 #LondonSpirit #TheHundred

— °• Chenae •° (@chenae876) August 4, 2022

That was CLOSE! Was rooting for #LondonSpirit and feeling pretty relaxed about things until those last 20 balls or so! Great comeback effort from #OvalInvincibles but glad Spirit saw it out for the win 😉 #TheHundred https://t.co/XgARBp2xDm

— Matt (@TheKitMatt) August 4, 2022

Nathan Ellis looking a strong replacement for the Spirit. Would Riley Meredith have had a better start to the comp? #thehundred2022 #LondonSpirit

— The Hundred Tweets (@tweetthehundred) August 4, 2022

I know that this isn’t Hampshire anymore but watching Ellis and Crane play for London spirit tonight got me jealous like an ex boyfriend #southernbrave #TheHundred #LondonSpirit

— Stephen Pinhorne (@StevepCricket) August 5, 2022

London Spirit win a final-ball thriller by 3 runs - just! 😮#TheHundred pic.twitter.com/8LnMQKpZQG #cricketmerijaan #rohitsharma #dhoni #rohitsharma #tendulkar #cricket #msdhoni #viratkohli #slogover #kohli

— Slogover (@slogoverindia) August 5, 2022

#TopPerformers

The Hundred (Men's) 2022
2nd Match

Morgan: 47(29) 4s:5 6s:3
Ellis: 3/28 (20)#TheHundred #OIvLS #OvalInvincibles #LondonSpirit #Morgan #Ellis #CricketTechz #SquareSports #SquareGroup pic.twitter.com/cNOVqgmK4j

— Cricket Techz (@crickettechz247) August 5, 2022

Oval Invincibles vs London Spirit
The Hundred Mens, 2nd Match
Result : London Spirit won by 3 runs
London Spirit Innings : 171/6(100)
Eoin Morgan - 47 | Sunil Narine - 2/25
Oval Invincibles Innings : 168/7(100)
Hilton Cartwright - 42 | Nathan Ellis - 3/28@thehundred #TheHundred

— Match Info (@KALYAMPUDI1) August 5, 2022

Morgan retires, Morgan fires! 🙃#LondonSpirit #Morgan #TheHundred2022

— Ani (@anirudhani_) August 5, 2022

What a turnaround of fortunes for the London Spirit this year! They finished last in the inaugural season in 2021 but started 2022 with a thrilling win over their derby rivals Oval Invincibles by 3 runs!
What a match!
Love this tournament @thehundred ❣️ https://t.co/lyt5bonpag

— Souvik 45© (@SouvikPurkaya16) August 5, 2022