An all-round bowling performance, led by Jofra Archer's 4-9 helped Southern Brave to their second victory in the Men's Hundred 2026 as they piled more misery on London Spirit.
Jonny Bairstow's hard-fought 56 (43) was the only silver lining for the hosts, who were bundled out for 105 at Lord's.
Marcus Stoinis continued his envious form with the ball, claiming 3-17, while spin wizard Adil Rashid (2-17) induced a chokehold after the powerplay.
Brave themselves fell to 60-5, but David Miller and Tristan Stubbs held their nerve to eventually lift them to fourth place.
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Low-scoring humdinger ruled by spin
It was not until Adam Zampa and James Coles began to operate in tandem that the Brave batters fell behind the game for a phase.
Of course, David Willey struck with a bail-trimmer off his third delivery to send Ben McKinney for a golden duck, before dislodging Nikhil Chaudhary inside the powerplay.
None of the inspired powerplay top-of-off stuff could slow Jamie Smith (36 off 22) down, as he seemed to have been batting on a different surface altogether.
In came Coles then, trapping the Brave keeper for lbw, while Zampa stifled the returning Moeen Ali with a tempter after building pressure with three dots. Soon, Brave had lost half their side.
When Liam Livingstone brought himself on, he too, delivered an economical set of 10 delivers for just five runs, taking the match to the final set.
Earlier in the day, Rashid had spun a web as well.
Miller, Stubbs negotiate the strong winds
Negotiating Spirit's spin attack were Miller and Stubbs, absorbing the pressure and taking the game deep.
Miller masterfully picked his battles, taking Zampa's last delivery downtown, and following it up with two fours off Jamie Overton's immediate set after. Stubbs meanwhile, chewed up dots and ensured he held one end.
Despite battling injury on his hand, Miller launched two towering sixes straight down off Livingstone to seal the deal and finish on 39 from 28, re-establishing why he's one of the most dependable finishers in the modern game even until present day.
Check out the scorecard from London Spirit vs Southern Brave.
Archer rattles through London Spirit
Arguably, it shouldn't have needed the South African duo to dig in on a slow Lord's surface, as highlighted by the Man of the Match, Archer.
"I think they got 100 and what, 100 and a little bit and you always think that it’s going to be an easy game, but we seem to always make it harder for ourselves."
Archer had only bagged his first wicket of this year's edition last game, although his pace and rhythm have been delightful to witness. So, it was only imperative that such a day was not too far away.
He chipped away with an economical first spell, and then returned to send Dewald Brevis back in the hut when he tried to force the pace off a 90 mph delivery on sixth stump.
One of the brightest game-changers with the ball across formats, Archer returned to take three in the space of five deliveries, before Stoinis wrapped up the tail with back-to-back wickets himself, bowling Spirit out in 92 balls.
What next for both teams?
Southern Brave will aim to continue their pursuit of an eliminator spot when they take on Welsh Fire at Sophia Gardens on Monday, 3rd August.
London Spirit, on the other hand, must make amends on Tuesday versus Sunrisers Leeds away from home if they are to avoid an early knockout.
