KARACHI: Hyderabad Kingsmen produced an all-round performance to beat Rawalpindis by 108 runs in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 clash at the National Bank Stadium on Sunday to advance to the playoffs.
Chasing a challenging target of 245, Rawalpindi were bowled out for 136 runs in 17.1 overs.
The result saw Hyderabad successfully complete their qualifying campaign, which required them not only to win but to restrict their opponents to 158 runs or less to advance to the next stage of the tournament.
Rawalpindi’s opening over saw Akif Javed dismiss Shahzaib Khan for just one run off five balls.
Mohammed Rizwan and Usman Khawaja combined to take the score past 50 runs.
However, their stand of 43 was broken when Hunain Shah dismissed Rizwan for 26 off 16 balls, an innings that featured four fours.
Khawaja continued to anchor the innings, reaching his second PSL half-century, and along with Sam Billings briefly restored confidence. But wickets kept falling at regular intervals.
Kamran Ghulam was bowled by Hunain Shah, who picked up his second wicket of the innings. Billings scored 23 off 12 balls with a four and 2 sixes, while Dion Forrester scored just 6 before Akif Javed struck again to reduce Rawalpindis to 102-5 in 11.4 overs.
Low order offered little resistance. Muhammad Ali added to the pressure as Saad Masood got out for 5, and Hunain Shah took his third wicket, dismissing Amat Patt for 3.
Asif Afridi became the ninth wicket, run out by Sime Ayub three runs later, before Ben Sears ducked out as the last batter, leaving Rawalpindi short of the target.
Usman Khawaja remained unbeaten but scored 66 off 43 balls including 9 fours.
Hunain Shah led the bowling, posting figures of 4/22 in 3.1 overs. Akif Javed took 3 wickets and Muhammad Ali and Glenn Maxwell took one each.
Asked to bat first, the Kingsmen were bolstered by the impressive contributions of Usman Khan, Gusal Perera, Glenn Maxwell and Mas Sadaq.
Captain Marnus Labuschagne fell early and Ben Sears clean bowled for five runs in five balls after hitting a boundary in the second over.
Mas Sadaq and Usman Khan anchored the innings with an aggressive 50-run partnership, with fluent stroke play as the Kingsmen crossed the 50-run mark.
However, Amad Bhatt broke the stand on 54 and dismissed Maas for 28 off 11 balls with 5 fours and a six, a sharp catch by wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan. Kingsmen were reduced to 64-2 in 5.1 overs.
Usman continued his attacking approach, scoring his fifth PSL half-century while dominating the bowling with regular fours. Saim Ayub joined him shortly but was dismissed by Asif Afridi for 12 runs off six balls, including a four and a six.
Usman and Gusal Perera combined to take the innings past the 100-run milestone before Saad Masood struck twice in the same over.
Usman smashed 54 off 26 balls with 4 fours and 4 sixes, while Irfan Niaji took a duck off the first ball as the Kingsmen were bowled out for 119-5 in 9.2 overs.
Perera and Glenn Maxwell revived the innings in style, keeping the scoreboard ticking for a strong partnership that took the side past 200 in the 17th over.
Maxwell, in particular, took the attack to the bowlers, scored his maiden PSL half-century and helped the pair cross the 100-run mark.
Their 108-run partnership ended in the final over when Maxwell was run out by Sam Billings after a 37-ball 70 with 8 fours and 3 sixes.
Perera brought up his fourth PSL half-century and remained unbeaten on 50 off 30 balls with 5 fours and a six, while Hasan Khan quickly added 16 runs to push the total to 244-6.