KARACHI: Wicketkeeper Usman Khan’s fourth century helped Hyderabad Kingsmen chase down a target of 214 runs to beat Multan Sultans by four wickets in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11th match at the National Bank Stadium on Wednesday.
Chasing a tough target, Usman’s century saw the Kingsmen reel off the winning runs with 6 wickets and 3 balls to spare.
The Kingsmen got off to a poor start to their innings as they lost Mass’ century (seven) for just 13 runs in the second over.
After stumbling early, Labuschagne put on a one-sided 34 for the second wicket with Saim Ayub, who took 5 off 10, before he dismissed Kusal Perera for a golden duck in the next balls to reduce the Kingsmen to 48/3.
Usman came out to bat at No. 5, paving the way for successive dismissals, and although he would have fallen behind on the first delivery if the Sultans had appealed, he turned the game around with a belligerent strike.
Usman shared a 123-run partnership for the fourth wicket with captain Marnus Labuschagne, during which both batsmen scored half-centuries.
Experienced fast bowler Peter Siddle broke the partnership with a 41-ball 61 with nine boundaries to dismiss compatriot Labuschagne in the 16th over.
Meanwhile, Usman continued his attack and brought up his well-deserved century off the final ball of the 17th over bowled by Mohammad Wasim Jr.
Siddle, however, dismissed Glenn Maxwell (two) and Usman for a century in the 18th over to create a sensation in the Kingsmen series.
Usman top-scored for the Kingsmen with a 47-ball 101 with 10 sixes and 5 fours.
Following Usman’s dismissal, the Kingsmen needed 26 more off 12 balls and Hasan Khan’s cameo of 24 took them over the line with 3 balls to spare.
Siddle and Ismail picked up 3 wickets each for Sultans while the rest went wicketless.
Kingsmen skipper Marnes Lapuzagne’s decision to bat first backfired as the former champions posted 213/7 in their 20 overs.
Sultans started their innings with a bang as Smith and Farhan dominated the Kingsmen bowling and put on 132 runs.
Glenn Maxwell broke the monument by catching Farhan at long-on on the third delivery of the 13th over.
Farhan was a significant contributor to the Kingsmen’s total, scoring a 43-ball 66 with four fours and four sixes.
Smith then joined forces with Josh Phillips to intensify the attack against the Kingsmen bowlers, the highlight of which was Hunain Shah’s 28, during which he brought up his maiden PSL century with a six.
The Sultans mainstay fell to Hasan Khan on the fourth delivery of the 17th over, and he made 106 off 50 balls with 12 fours and 6 sixes to top it off.
Sultans suffered another blow on the first delivery of the next over when Shaun Masood was bowled by Muhammad Ali to slump further to 188/3.
Wicketkeeper Batter Phillips and all-rounder Mohammad Imran could contribute 19 and nine not out respectively as the Kingsmen bowlers took four wickets in the last two overs to pull things back at the back.
Akif Javed took 3 wickets for 30 runs in his 3 overs for Kingsmen while Ali, Maxwell, Hasan and Hunain took one wicket each.