KARACHI: Debutants Hyderabad Kingsmen fought hard to beat 2021 champions Multan Sultans by four wickets in the 33rd match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 at the National Bank Stadium on Wednesday.
Batting first, Sultans scored 213 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 20 overs thanks to a brilliant century from veteran Steve Smith.
Smith scored 106 off 50 balls with 12 fours and 6 sixes. He also shared a 132-run partnership with fellow opener Sahibzada Farhan, who scored 66 off 43 balls with 5 sixes and 4 fours.
Apart from them, only wicketkeeper-batsman Josh Phillip (19) managed to score double figures as the Kingsmen bowlers took things back in the back.
Akif Javed led the Kingsmen bowling with 3 for 30 from his 3 overs, while Muhammad Ali, Hunain Shah, Hasan Khan and Glenn Maxwell claimed a wicket each.
Chasing a tough target of 214, Usman Khan’s fourth PSL century saw the Kingsmen hit the winning run with 6 wickets and 3 balls to spare.
The wicketkeeper batsman overcame Smith’s masterclass with a sensational performance as he scored 101 off 47 balls with 10 sixes and 5 fours to top the score for the Kingsmen.
He was amply supported by skipper Marnus Labuschagne, who scored a 41-ball 61, while all-rounder Hasan scored an unbeaten 24, which came in just six balls.
For Multan Sultans, Mohammad Ismail and Peter Siddle took 3 wickets each.
The four-wicket win marked Hyderabad Kingsmen’s fourth consecutive win in the ongoing PSL 11, lifting them to fourth place on the points table with eight points after eight games, beating similarly-placed Lahore Qalandars with a similar record.
| Teams | Competitions | succeeds | Losses | No results | points | Net flow rate |
| Peshawar Zalmi (K) | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 2.645 |
| Sultans of Multan | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 0.450 |
| Islamabad United | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 1.481 |
| Hyderabad Kingsmen | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | -0.367 |
| Lahore Colleagues | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | -0.503 |
| Quetta Gladiators | 9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 6 | -0.355 |
| Kings of Karachi | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 | -1.292 |
| Rawalpindis (E) | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | -1.647 |
Multan Sultans, on the other hand, remain second on the points table with 12 points from nine matches, only behind leaders Peshawar Zalmi, who have already qualified for the playoffs.
Three-time champions Islamabad United are third in the points table with nine points after seven matches, while Quetta Gladiators and Karachi Kings are sixth and seventh respectively, with six points each.
Openers Rawalpindi lost each of their first eight matches and remain bottom with zero points.