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An unbeaten half-century by captain Marnus Labuschagne after a four-wicket haul from Asif Mehmood guided Hyderabad Kingsmen to a six-wicket win over Islamabad United in the 21st match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 at the National Bank Stadium, Karachi on Sunday.
The victory marked Kingsmen's second consecutive as they had beaten 2020 champions Karachi Kings in their previous assignment after losing four consecutive matches.
Set to chase a modest 154-run target, the tournament debutants comfortably knocked the winning runs for the loss of four wickets and 11 balls to spare.
Leading the way for them was captain Labuschagne, who oversaw their successful run chase with an unbeaten 61 off 53 deliveries, studded with six fours.
The skipper received ample support from fellow top-order batters Maaz Sadaqat and Saim Ayub, who made brisk 30 and 35, respectively, before sharing a match-winning partnership with compatriot Glenn Maxwell, who scored an unbeaten 21 off just nine deliveries.
For the United, stand-in captain Chris Green and Faheem Ashraf bagged two wickets each.
Kingsmen captain Marnus Labuschagne's decision to field first paid dividends as the three-time champions could accumulate 153/9 in their 20 overs.
The United got off to a decent start to their innings as their opening pair of Sameer Minhas and Devon Conway put together 56 runs until the former was cleaned up by Mohammad Ali on the penultimate delivery of the batting powerplay.
Minhas made a blazing 22 off just 13 deliveries, hitting three fours and a six.
Conway was then involved in a brief 31-run partnership for the second wicket with Mohammad Faiq before both got run out in the 10th over, resulting in the three-time champions slipping to 89/3.
The left-handed opener remained the top-scorer for the United, making 45 off 31 deliveries with the help of seven fours, while Faiq made a 14-ball 18, comprising one six.
The United lost two more wickets in quick succession, as Haider Ali and all-rounder Faheem Ashraf walked back after scoring six and five, respectively, and thus slipped further to 113/5 in 15.3 overs.
Meanwhile, No.4 batter Mark Chapman, who held one end firmly during the collapse in the middle phase, was eventually dismissed by Asif Mehmood on the second delivery of the final over and walked back after top-scoring with a valiant 42 off 30 deliveries with the help of three fours and two sixes.
Mehmood struck thrice more in the final over, dismissing experienced all-rounder Imad Wasim (two), Mehran Mumtaz (zero) and Chris Green (six), to deny United from adding valuable runs to their total at the backend.
The debutant spearheaded the Kingsmen's bowling charge with four wickets for just 18 runs in his four overs, followed by Ali with two, while Glenn Maxwell chipped in with one.
