LAHORE: Usman Khan and Mas Sadaqat’s combined half-centuries helped Hyderabad Kingsmen beat Multan Sultans by eight wickets in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 Eliminator 1 at the Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday.
The Kingsmen’s victory brought the curtains down on Sultans’ campaign and they will face three-time champions Islamabad United in Eliminator 2 at the same venue on Friday in a bid to qualify for the finals of the eight-team tournament.
Chasing a target of 160, the Kingsmen easily cruised to victory with two wickets and 28 balls to spare thanks to the second wicket partnership of Usman and Sathak.
However, the chase had a mixed start as the Kingsmen lost their skipper Marnus Lapuzagne (11) in the second over with 18 runs to spare.
Following an early setback, in-form wicketkeeper Batter Usman joined Sadaq in the middle and the duo dominated and added 92 runs for the second wicket.
Usman, who was the main occupant of the main stand, was dismissed by Steve Smith in the 11th over. He scored 64 off 35 balls with 8 fours and three sixes.
Sadaqat joined Saim Ayub in the middle and the duo batted smartly to guide the Kingsmen over the line in the 16th over.
The left-handed opener scored an unbeaten 64 off 33 balls with 4 sixes and several fours for the Kingsmen, while Saim scored 15 off a ball.
Ismail and Smith could take one wicket each for Sultans.
Batting first in a high-stakes match, Sultans finished 159/9 in 20 overs courtesy of Masood.
The Sultans started their innings in a rut as Mohammad Ali dismissed their experienced opener Steve Smith (13) for just 28 in the third over.
The Kingsmen lost two more wickets in subsequent overs, with Akif Javed catching opener Sahibzada Farhan (15) at cover point, Hunain Shah trapping Josh Phillip (six) at lbw and slipping to 36/3 inside the resulting batting powerplay.
Following an early stumble, captain Ashton Turner (nine) and his deputy Shaun Masood tried to recover by batting cautiously but managed to add 15 runs for the fourth wicket as former skipper Saim Ayub was sent back in the seventh over.
Glenn Maxwell dealt another blow to Sultans’ batting campaign as he dismissed young all-rounder Arafat Minhas on the first delivery of the eighth over to reduce the total to 52/5.
Meanwhile, Masood, who stood firm during the slump, later shared a crucial 33-run partnership for the sixth wicket with all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz, who contributed 19 off 18 balls, before Javed fell victim in the 12th over.
Sultans suffer another setback as Ali cleans Mohammad Imran Randhawa (two).
Hunaine kept the momentum going in the Kingsmen’s favor in the 16th over off the bowling of Peter Siddle.
Masood, however, kept the scoreboard single-handed and eventually scored his 10th PSL half-century in the 18th over.
The left-handed batsman batted till the end and scored an unbeaten 69 off 46 balls with 4 sixes and several fours.
For Kingsmen, pacers Hunain, Ali and Javed took two wickets each, while spinners Maxwell and Sime took one wicket each.