Marnus Labuschagne’s unbeaten fifty powered Hyderabad Kingsmen to a six-wicket win over Islamabad United in the 21st match of PSL 11 at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi on Sunday.
The result gave the tournament debutants a second straight victory. Kingsmen had entered the match after beating Karachi Kings and ending a four-game losing streak.
Chasing 154, Hyderabad Kingsmen reached the target with four wickets down and 11 balls to spare.
Labuschagne led the effort with an unbeaten 61 off 53 balls and struck six fours during a composed innings. He also received strong support from Maaz Sadaqat, who made 30, and Saim Ayub, who added 35.
Later, Glenn Maxwell finished the chase in style with an unbeaten 21 off just nine deliveries. His late contribution helped Kingsmen close out the game comfortably.
For Islamabad United, stand-in captain Chris Green and Faheem Ashraf took two wickets each. Kingsmen captain Labuschagne chose to field first, and that call paid off as Islamabad United finished on 153/9 in 20 overs.
United started well. Sameer Minhas and Devon Conway added 56 for the opening wicket before Mohammad Ali dismissed Minhas on the second-last ball of the powerplay. Minhas made 22 off 13 balls with three fours and a six.
Conway then added 31 runs with Mohammad Faiq for the second wicket. However, both batters were run out in the 10th over, and United slipped to 89/3. Conway remained one of the key contributors with 45 off 31 balls, including seven fours, while Faiq scored 18 off 14 balls.
Islamabad United lost further ground when Haider Ali and Faheem Ashraf fell cheaply, leaving the side at 113/5 in 15.3 overs.
Mark Chapman tried to hold the innings together with 42 off 30 balls, hitting three fours and two sixes. Still, Kingsmen finished strongly with the ball.
Asif Mehmood delivered the decisive spell. He dismissed Chapman in the final over and then removed Imad Wasim, Mehran Mumtaz and Chris Green to stop United from adding late runs.
The debutant finished with 4/18 in four overs and led Hyderabad’s bowling attack. Mohammad Ali picked up two wickets, while Maxwell chipped in with one.
Hyderabad Kingsmen looked more settled in both departments and controlled the chase through Labuschagne’s calm innings. Meanwhile, Islamabad United paid for losing momentum in the middle overs and never recovered at the death.
