Hyderabad secure 8-wicket win over Multan, will face Islamabad United next for tournament\u2019s final berth
\n Lahore
\nHalf-centuries from Usman Khan and Maaz Sadaqat, combined with disciplined bowling, powered Hyderabad Kingsmen to an eight-wicket victory over Multan Sultans in Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11\u2019s Eliminator 1 on Wednesday.
\nKingsmen\u2019s victory in the high-stakes fixture drew curtains on Sultans\u2019 campaign and meant that the new entrants will go on and face three-time champions Islamabad United in the Eliminator 2 at the same venue on Friday in a bid to qualify for the eight-team tournament\u2019s final.
\nSet to chase a 160-run target, the Kingsmen comfortably knocked the winning runs for the loss of just two wickets and 28 balls to spare, courtesy of the second-wicket partnership between Usman and Sadaqat.
\nThe Kingsmen, however, had a contrasting start to the pursuit as they lost their captain, Marnus Labuschagne (11), in the second over with 18 runs on the board.
\nFollowing the early setback, in-form wicketkeeper batter Usman joined Sadaqat in the middle, and the duo batted dominantly to put together 92 runs for the second wicket.
\nUsman, who was the core aggressor of the vital stand, was eventually removed by Steve Smith in the 11th over. He walked back after top-scoring for the Kingsmen with a swashbuckling 64 off 35 deliveries, studded with eight fours and three sixes. Sadaqat was then joined by Saim Ayub in the middle, and the duo batted sensibly to steer the Kingsmen over the line in the 16th over.
\nThe left-handed opener remained the joint top-scorer for the Kingsmen with an unbeaten 64 off 35 deliveries, comprising eight fours and three sixes, while Saim chipped in with a run-a-ball 15 not out.
\nFor Sultans, Ismail and Smith could pick up a wicket apiece.
\nPut into bat first in the high-stakes fixture, the Sultans finished at 159\/9 in their 20 overs, courtesy of Masood.
\nThe Sultans got off to a shaky start to their innings as Mohammad Ali dismissed their experienced opener Steve Smith (13) in the third over with just 28 runs on the board.
\nKingsmen then lost two more wickets in successive overs as Akif Javed got in-form opener Sahibzada Farhan (15) caught at cover point, while Hunain Shah trapped Josh Philippe (six) lbw, and consequently slipped to 36\/3 inside the batting powerplay.
\nFollowing the early stutter, captain Ashton Turner (nine) and his deputy Shan Masood attempted to force a recovery by batting cautiously but could add 15 runs for the fourth wicket as the former was sent back by Saim Ayub in the seventh over.
\nGlenn Maxwell inflicted another blow to the Sultans\u2019 batting expedition as he got rid of their young all-rounder Arafat Minhas on the first delivery of the eighth over and brought the total further down to 52\/5.
\nMeanwhile, Masood, who stood his ground firmly during the collapse, then shared a crucial 33-run partnership for the sixth wicket with all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz, who contributed with an 18-ball 19 before falling victim to Javed in the 12th over.
\nSultans endured another setback an over later as Ali cleaned up Mohammad Imran Randhawa (two) to expose their batting tail.
\nHunain ensured retaining the momentum in Kingsmen\u2019s favour as he bowled Peter Siddle in the 16th over.
\nMasood, however, kept the scoreboard ticking single-handedly and eventually brought his 10th PSL half-century in the 18th over.
\nThe left-handed batter batted until the end and top-scored with an unbeaten 69 off 46 deliveries, studded with four sixes and as many fours.
\nFor Kingsmen, the pace trio of Hunain, Ali and Javed bagged two wickets each, while spinners Maxwell and Saim chipped in with one scalp apiece.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hyderabad secure 8-wicket win over Multan, will face Islamabad United next for tournament\u2019s final berth Lahore Half-centuries from Usman Khan and Maaz Sadaqat, combined with disciplined bowling, powered Hyderabad Kingsmen to an eight-wicket victory over Multan Sultans in Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11\u2019s Eliminator 1 on Wednesday. Kingsmen\u2019s victory in the high-stakes fixture drew curtains […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":543900,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-543879","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n