Hayley Matthews conceded three runs from the final three balls to earn MI London a tie with London Spirit at The Oval — the second time in three years these two sides have finished level.

London Spirit needed nine runs from the last set of five deliveries. Deandra Dottin struck a four off the first ball and added a single from the next. Matthews then had Nadine de Klerk caught at deep mid-wicket for 13, kept Charlie Dean to a single, and watched Dottin scramble two from the final ball. The scores finished level: MI London 151-4, London Spirit 151-5. BBC Sport

Put into bat by London Spirit, MI London leaned on Amelia Kerr's unbeaten 49 from 32 balls. Kerr added 46 with Hollie Armitage, who made 23, then combined with Chinelle Henry in an unbroken stand of 54. Henry's 33 came off just 12 balls — two fours, two sixes — and lifted the total to a competitive 151.

London Spirit's chase nearly got derailed on the first ball. Henry, who had just finished a destructive innings with the bat, had Grace Harris caught by Armitage. Amy Jones and Marie Kelly rebuilt with a 68-run partnership, Kelly scoring 45. Jones then added 51 with Marizanne Kapp, who made 25.

Spirit needed 33 from 26 balls when the match turned. Jones was caught at backward square leg off Kirstie Gordon's bowling for 49 from 36. Kapp followed four deliveries later, top-edging Matthews to Dani Gregory immediately after hitting a six.

MI London tightened, conceding 19 runs off the next 17 balls to set up the final-set drama. Matthews, who had already removed Kapp, took 2-33. Kirstie Gordon finished with 2-29. For Spirit, Kapp took 2-24 with the ball.

The result gave MI London their first points of the season after three opening defeats, lifting them off the bottom of the table above Birmingham Phoenix on net run-rate — the system that ranks teams with equal points by how quickly they have scored and how slowly they have conceded. London Spirit moved to fourth, with one win, one defeat and one tie from three matches, rising above Welsh Fire and Sunrisers Leeds.

Two ties in three meetings between these sides is a quirk worth noting. In The Hundred, where every ball is a discrete event — 100 deliveries per innings, no over breaks — margins are thin enough that a single tight set can swing everything. Matthews made sure this one swung just far enough to keep both sides level and neither defeated.