In the first Eliminator of the eleventh edition of the Pakistan Super League, Hyderabad Kings Men defeated Multan Sultans by 8 wickets to knock them out of the tournament, securing their place in Eliminator 2 where they will face Islamabad United.
The match, played at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, turned out to be one-sided, with Hyderabad Kings Men dominating from start to finish. They first restricted Multan Sultans to 159 runs and then comfortably chased down the target in the 16th over.
For Hyderabad Kings Men, Usman Khan scored 64 runs, while Muaz Sadaqat played an unbeaten knock of 64 runs, playing a crucial role in the victory. Marnus Labuschagne scored 11 runs, while Saim Ayub remained not out on 15.
For Multan Sultans, Mohammad Ismail and Steve Smith picked up one wicket each but failed to prevent defeat.
Earlier, Multan Sultans posted 159 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in their 20 overs, with Shan Masood top-scoring with an unbeaten 69, while Mohammad Nawaz contributed 18 runs.
Other contributors included Sahibzada Farhan with 15 and Steve Smith with 13 runs, but the team failed to post a big total.
Hyderabad Kingsmen’s bowling attack delivered a strong performance, with Mohammad Ali, Aaqib Javed, and Hunain Shah taking two wickets each, while Glenn Maxwell and Saim Ayub claimed one wicket apiece.
Muaz Sadaqat was named Player of the Match for his outstanding batting performance. Hyderabad Kings Men will now face Islamabad United in Eliminator 2, and the winner of that match will advance to the final to face Peshawar Zalmi.
At the toss, captain Marnus Labuschagne stated that there were no changes in the team and that they aimed to restrict the opposition to a low score, while Multan Sultans captain Ashton Turner said the pitch looked good for batting and his team would aim to score over 200.
It is worth noting that Multan Sultans had consistently remained in second place during the league stage but dropped to third after losing their last two matches, while Hyderabad Kings Men made a strong comeback after losing their first four matches and qualified for the playoffs with consecutive wins.
