The Hyderabad kingsmen are officially the team to beat. Despite entering the playoffs as the lower-ranked side, the Kingsmen delivered a masterclass in clinical cricket, dismantling the Multan Sultans by eight wickets to move one step closer to the trophy.
With five wins in their last six games, Hyderabad looked unstoppable. They chased down a target of 160 with nearly five overs to spare, ending the Sultans’ season in brutal fashion.
Sultans Struggle at the Start
The Sultans entered the match on a shaky run, having lost their previous two games. That lack of momentum showed early. Hyderabad’s pace attack led by Mohammad Ali, Akif Javed, and Hunain Shah kept the Sultans’ batters under immense pressure from the first ball.
The collapse was sudden and devastating:
- The Breakthrough: Mohammad Ali dismissed Smith early, sparking a collapse.
- The Slide: In just 26 balls, the Sultans lost five wickets while adding only 24 runs.
- The Exposure: By the 7th over, the Sultans’ middle and lower order were forced into a survival battle with 13 overs still to play.
Even part-time spinners Saim Ayub and Glenn Maxwell got in on the action, picking up cheap wickets as the Sultans struggled to find any rhythm.
Masood’s One-Man Resistance
The only bright spot for Multan was Shan Masood. Continuing his impressive comeback season, Masood played a brilliant solo hand. Realizing he was running out of partners, he began turning down singles to keep the strike, eventually scoring the lion’s share of the runs.
His late-innings explosion saw the Sultans plunder 56 runs from the final five overs, pushing their total to 159. While it gave the Sultans a fighting chance, it was still their lowest score of the season and nowhere near enough to scare a red-hot Hyderabad lineup.
The Chase: A One-Sided Affair
If the Sultans hoped for a tense finish, those dreams were quickly extinguished. Although Captain Marnus Labuschagne fell early, Maaz Sadaqat and Usman Khan took the game away in the Power play.
The highlights of the chase included:
- Power play Plunder: 49 runs came off the final four overs of the Power play as Peter Siddle and Muhammad Ismail struggled for control.
- Usman’s Fireworks: Usman Khan reached his half-century in just 29 balls, including a massive 19-run over against Mohammad Nawaz.
- Sadaqat’s Consistency: Maaz Sadaqat played the perfect supporting role, reaching his own fifty in just 25 balls.
By the time Usman Khan was caught for 64, the result was already a formality. The match ended fittingly for the Sultans’ “soggy” performance when a missed stumping allowed the winning runs to trickle away as byes.
What’s Next?
The Hyderabad Kingsmen now move on to a high-stakes clash against Islamabad United this Friday. The winner of that match will face Peshawar Zalmi in the grand final on Sunday.
On current form, the Kingsmen look like they might just go all the way.
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