Nothing less than a win would do for Spirit in the local derby and after their mauling at the hands of SunRisers Leeds on Tuesday, they made three changes but still came up short in front of a record group stage crowd of 27,721 at Lord's.
MI London called on Raza to replace their star leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who was away on international duty with Afghanistan. The Zimbabwean all-rounder played his part in a disciplined bowling display, with the visitors expertly keeping the ball away from the shorter boundary side. As a result, Spirit's innings struggled to gather momentum, flickering rather than igniting despite a composed half-century from Lhuan-Dre Pretorius.
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The South African's innings was ended by an outrageous boundary catch from Will Jacks, who overbalanced on the edge, threw the ball up and then dived full length to complete the dismissal one-handed.
Raza said: "Four days ago I was in Sri Lanka and I'm not really sure what day or date it is but it's nice to be part of The Hundred and have a debut like that. I couldn't have asked for a better start - really I just closed my eyes and swung as hard as I could!
"It was nice to get a few out of the middle and you need to remember the complexion of a game can completely change in 10 balls."
David Willey bristled and muscled his way to 31 but the earlier dismissals of power-hitters Liam Livingstone and Dewald Brevis meant that Spirit were always struggling to post the kind of score they would have liked.
Only the late resistance of Jamie Overton and James Coles prevented Spirit from falling short of a competitive total, with Coles producing his first innings of real substance for the side. Their aggressive hitting in the closing stages lifted Spirit to a serviceable 160-5, leaving MI London needing to complete the highest successful run chase in The Hundred men's competition at Lord's to secure victory.
Matt Fisher, earlier in the day picked in England's Test squad, saw his first ever ball for Spirit disappear back over his head for six from the bat of Jacks but he had his Surrey team-mate's wicket next ball, Adam Milne pouching the skier.
Nicholas Pooran, making his first appearance at Lord's, wasted little time finding his rhythm, but Mason Crane - brought in for Adam Zampa - delivered a superb opening spell. The leg-spinner dismissed former skipper James Vince with his very first ball and conceded just three runs from his first ten deliveries.
Pooran and captain Sam Curran began to accelerate the chase, but in an increasingly heated contest, Willey provided a moment of brilliance, completing a stunning run-out after releasing the ball mid-air while diving. The dismissal of the Trinidadian, however, only brought Zimbabwean all-rounder Raza to the crease and handed MI London a dangerous left-right combination.
Raza wasted no time making an impact, launching his first, fourth and seventh deliveries for six as he transformed the chase. His explosive 41-run stand with Curran, coming from just 18 balls, left MI London needing 29 from the final 20 deliveries.
The momentum shifted again when Curran picked out deep point off Overton for 33 and Sherfane Rutherford fell for a golden duck. But James Coles then conceded 18 from his only five balls, including a colossal 105-metre six from Raza that nearly cleared the ground. Although Raza departed with 10 balls remaining, Ollie Pope calmly finished the job to seal victory.
The two London sides exchanged words as they left the field after a fiery and occasionally fractious encounter. For Spirit, however, the defeat ended their hopes of progressing further in the competition.
What is happening in The Hundred on Friday?
Friday sees a single double-header as Birmingham Phoenix women's team host SunRisers Leeds from 3pm before the men's sides square off from 6.30pm. Catch both fixtures live on Sky Sports.
Watch every match of The Hundred through to the finals on Sunday August 16. Watch The Hundred and more contract-free on NOW
