PSL 11 encounter
\nIrfan remains top-scorer with unbeaten 34 while Perera, Labuschagne add 32 each
\n Karachi
\nHyderabad Kingsmen beat Rawalpindiz by five wickets to continue their winning run in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi on Thursday.
\nKingsmen chased down the target in 16.3 overs, losing five wickets, thanks to crucial contributions from skipper Marnus Labuschagne, Kusal Perera and Irfan Khan Niazi.
\nThe team suffered an early setback in the opening over as Asif Afridi struck to remove opener Maaz Sadaqat, who scored four off five deliveries, including a boundary.
\nMarnus Labuschagne and Saim Ayub added some stability with a decent partnership, but it was short-lived as Afridi struck again to dismiss Saim for 15 off 11 balls, including a six, leaving the side at 28-2 in 4.1 overs.
\nUsman Khan became the third batter to fall inside the powerplay as Mohammad Amir removed the wicketkeeper-batter for a duck off eight balls.
\nRawalPindiz fought back by picking up another wicket, with Saad Masood dismissing Labuschagne lbw after his crucial 32 off 21 deliveries, which included six boundaries, reducing the side to 68-4 in nine overs.
\nThe Kingsmen came under further pressure as they lost their fifth wicket, with Ben Sears removing Glenn Maxwell for a first-ball duck.
\nPerera and Irfan Niazi then steadied the innings with a crucial partnership, taking the team past the 100-run mark.
\nKingsmen sealed victory in the 16th over as Perera remained unbeaten on 32 off 24 deliveries with three fours and a six while Irfan played an impressive knock of 34 off 29 balls with three fours and a six as the duo notched up a 50-run partnership to guide the chase.
\nBatting first, Pindiz were restricted to 121-9 in their allotted 20 overs courtesy of an exceptional bowling performance by Kingsmen\u2019s attack. The team suffered an early setback when Glenn Maxwell struck in the third over, removing opening batter Usman Khawaja, who managed two off five deliveries. Pacer Mohammad Ali provided a crucial breakthrough by dismissing skipper Mohammad Rizwan, who was clean bowled for 15 off 16 balls after hitting three fours, leaving the side reeling at 20-2 in 4.2 overs. At the end of the powerplay, Hunain Shah inflicted another blow as Daryl Mitchell fell for a five-ball duck, increasing the pressure on the batting side.
\nHunain struck again in the 10th over, claiming his second wicket by dismissing Abdullah Fazal, who scored 11 off 14 balls with a solitary boundary, leaving the team struggling at 41-4.
\nYasir Khan and Sam Billings then combined to steady the innings, rotating the strike and adding crucial runs to take the total past the 50-run mark in the 12th over. However, Ali struck again to hand Pindiz their fifth blow as Yasir Khan was dismissed for a steady 24 off 30 balls, including one four, which also ended a 21-run partnership.
\nKingsmen were quick to wrap up the innings as Saad Masood became the next Pindiz batter to be dismissed run out by a direct hit from Marnus Labuschagne after scoring 10 off five deliveries, including two fours.
\nWickets continued to tumble for Rawalpindiz as they were reduced to seven down when Asif Mehmood struck to claim the key wicket of Sam Billings, who played a solid knock of 26 off 22 deliveries, including one four and a six, leaving the team reeling at 97-7 in 16.5 overs.
\nAsif Afridi then came to the crease and opened his account with a boundary, helping the team\u2019s total cross the 100-run mark.
\nHunain picked up his third wicket of the match, dismissing Mubasir Khan, who played a valiant knock of 11 off seven deliveries featuring two fours.
\nAli was in top form with the ball as he picked up his third wicket, removing Ben Sears for a duck, while the first innings concluded with Asif Afridi unbeaten on 15, while Amir scored two runs as well.
\nMohammad Ali and Hunain Shah starred for Hyderabad Kingsmen with both pacers claiming three wickets each in their spells while Asif Mehmood and Glenn Maxwell also chipped in with one wicket apiece.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PSL 11 encounter Irfan remains top-scorer with unbeaten 34 while Perera, Labuschagne add 32 each Karachi Hyderabad Kingsmen beat Rawalpindiz by five wickets to continue their winning run in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi on Thursday. Kingsmen chased down the target in 16.3 overs, losing five wickets, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":542221,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-542197","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n