After four straight defeats, Hyderabad Kingsmen bounced back strongly with three consecutive wins in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 as they outclassed Rawalpindiz by five wickets at Karachi's National Bank Stadium on Thursday.
Kingsmen chased down the target in 16.3 overs, losing five wickets, thanks to crucial contributions from skipper Marnus Labuschagne, Kusal Perera and Irfan Khan Niazi.
The team suffered an early setback in the opening over as Asif Afridi struck to remove opener Maaz Sadaqat, who scored four off five deliveries, including a boundary.
Marnus Labuschagne and Saim Ayub added some stability with a decent partnership, but it was short-lived as Afridi struck again to dismiss Saim for 15 off 11 balls, including a six, leaving the side at 28-2 in 4.1 overs.
Usman Khan became the third batter to fall inside the powerplay as Mohammad Amir removed the wicketkeeper-batter for a duck off eight balls.
RawalPindiz fought back by picking up another wicket, with Saad Masood dismissing Labuschagne lbw after his crucial 32 off 21 deliveries, which included six boundaries, reducing the side to 68-4 in nine overs.
The Kingsmen came under further pressure as they lost their fifth wicket, with Ben Sears removing Glenn Maxwell for a first-ball duck.
Perera and Irfan Niazi then steadied the innings with a crucial partnership, taking the team past the 100-run mark.
Kingsmen sealed victory in the 16th over as Perera remained unbeaten on 32 off 24 deliveries with three fours and a six while Irfan played an impressive knock of 34 off 29 balls with three fours and a six as the duo notched up a 50-run partnership to guide the chase.
Hunain Shah's standout spell, featuring the crucial wicket of Daryl Mitchell, earned him Player of the Match.
Batting first, Pindiz were restricted to 121-9 in their allotted 20 overs courtesy of an exceptional bowling performance by Kingsmen’s attack.
The team suffered an early setback when Glenn Maxwell struck in the third over removing opening batter Usman Khawaja who managed two off five deliveries.
Pacer Mohammad Ali provided a crucial breakthrough by dismissing skipper Mohammad Rizwan who was clean bowled for 15 off 16 balls after hitting three fours leaving the side reeling at 20-2 in 4.2 overs.
At the end of the powerplay Hunain inflicted another blow as Daryl Mitchell fell for a five ball duck increasing the pressure on the batting side.
Hunain struck again in the 10th over claiming his second wicket by dismissing Abdullah Fazal who scored 11 off 14 balls with a solitary boundary leaving the team struggling at 41-4.
Yasir Khan and Sam Billings then combined to steady the innings rotating the strike and adding crucial runs to take the total past the 50 run mark in the 12th over.
However Ali struck again to hand Pindiz their fifth blow as Yasir Khan was dismissed for a steady 24 off 30 balls including one four which also ended a 21 run partnership.
Kingsmen were quick to wrap up the innings as Saad Masood became the next Pindiz batter to be dismissed run out by a direct hit from Marnus Labuschagne after scoring 10 off five deliveries including two fours.
Wickets continued to tumble for RawalPindiz as they were reduced to seven down when Asif Mehmood struck to claim the key wicket of Sam Billings who played a solid knock of 26 off 22 deliveries including one four and a six leaving the team reeling at 97-7 in 16.5 overs.
Asif Afridi then came to the crease and opened his account with a boundary helping the team’s total cross the 100 run mark.
Hunain picked up his third wicket of the match dismissing Mubasir Khan who played a valiant knock of 11 off seven deliveries featuring two fours.
Ali was in top form with the ball as he picked up his third wicket removing Ben Sears for a duck while the first innings concluded with Asif Afridi unbeaten on 15 while Amir scored two runs as well.
Mohammad Ali and Hunain Shah starred for Hyderabad Kingsmen with both pacers claiming three wickets each in their spells while Asif Mehmood and Glenn Maxwell also chipped in with one wicket apiece.
