LAHORE: Usman Khan’s magnificent half-century and Hunain Shah’s sensational death bowling helped Hyderabad Kingsmen win by two runs against three-time champions Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 Eliminator 2 at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday.
They will face table-toppers Peshawar Zalmi at the same venue on Sunday, while the win propelled the debutants to the final as the curtains were drawn on United’s campaign in the eight-team competition.
United got off to a needy start, 15 runs behind, losing Sameer Minhas (six) and Mohsin Riaz (five) within three overs.
Skipper Shadab Khan then joined Devon Conway in the middle and the duo batted cautiously to add 42 runs for the second wicket before the left-arm opener was dismissed in the eighth over by Saim Ayub, who scored 30 off 25 balls with three fours and a six.
Shadab then put on an 11-run partnership for the fourth wicket, eventually falling victim to Hasan Khan on the first delivery of the 11th over before cautiously retreating to 22 off 24 balls.
Following his dismissal, Chapman took control of United’s chase and put up a crucial 64-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Haider Ali, who scored 31 off 16 balls until he fell to Mohammad Ali in the 16th over.
Chapman, on the other hand, fell to Hunain Shah in the 18th over after 10 balls. He top scored for United with 43 off 26 balls with 5 fours and two sixes.
But his dismissal did not trouble the three-time champions as the all-rounder pair of Faheem Ashraf and Chris Green smashed Ali for 22 in the last over to reduce the required balance to 6 in the last over to put them in command.
With just 6 runs in the final over, Hunaine delivered an impeccable death bowling as he conceded just three runs to give the Kingsmen a two-run victory.
Ali and Hunain took two wickets each while Akif Javed, Hasan Khan and Saim Ayub took one each for Kingsmen.
Batting first, the Kingsmen amassed 186/5 in their 20 overs thanks to a sensational fifth-wicket partnership between Usman and Gusal Perera.
With just one run on the board, the Kingsmen got off to a poor start to their innings when Richard Gleeson ducked left-arm opener Mas Sadagat four balls into the first over.
Following an early stumble, Chaim Ayub joined captain Marnus Labuschagne in the middle and the duo batted cautiously to add 70 runs for the second wicket.
Chris Green eventually broke the budding partnership by dismissing Sime in the 10th over after scoring 38 off 27 balls with seven boundaries.
Labuschagne then put on a 13-run partnership for the third wicket with Glenn Maxwell (three) until the Australian fell to Imad Wasim in the 12th over, resulting in the Kingsmen slipping to 85/4.
The Kingsmen captain was a notable run-scorer for the tournament’s debutants, scoring 40 off 32 balls with four fours and a six.
Following back-to-back strikes, in-form wicketkeeper Batter Usman and Perera produced a stunning turnaround as they put on a 101-run partnership for the fifth wicket to take the Kingsmen’s total past 180.
Usman, who dominated the crucial position, scored an unbeaten 61 off 30 balls with 10 fours, while Perera scored 37 off 21 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes.
Imad was the best bowler for United, claiming two wickets for just 16 runs in his two overs, while Faheem Ashraf, Gleeson and Green claimed a scalp each.