Hyderabad Kingsmen continued their resurgence in the 2026 Pakistan Super League (PSL 11) with a comfortable five-wicket win over RawalPindiz at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi.
Chasing 122, the Kingsmen got over the line in just 16.3 overs despite losing five wickets along the way. Kusal Perera and Irfan Khan Niazi held their nerve in the second half of the innings after the chase briefly threatened to slip away.
The Kingsmen lost Maaz Sadaqat in the opening over after he made four. Marnus Labuschagne and Saim Ayub then repaired the early damage, but Asif Afridi struck again to remove Saim for 15 off 11 balls.
Usman Khan followed soon after, falling to Mohammad Amir for a duck, while Labuschagne’s brisk 32 off 21 deliveries, which included six fours, ended when Saad Masood trapped him lbw.
Glenn Maxwell then departed for a first-ball duck, leaving the Kingsmen at 68-5 and giving RawalPindiz a real opening in the match.
That hope did not last long.
Perera and Irfan put together an unbeaten 50-run stand that took the game away from RawalPindiz. Perera finished on 32 not out from 24 balls, hitting three fours and a six, while Irfan made 34 not out off 29 deliveries with three fours and a six.
Earlier, RawalPindiz never really got going after being asked to bat first and were limited to 121-9 in their 20 overs.
Glenn Maxwell gave Hyderabad an early breakthrough by removing Usman Khawaja for two, before Mohammad Ali cleaned up Mohammad Rizwan for 15 to leave RawalPindiz under pressure.
Hunain Shah then made things worse for the batting side by dismissing Daryl Mitchell for a five-ball duck at the end of the powerplay. He returned later to remove Abdullah Fazal as well, leaving RawalPindiz struggling at 41-4.
Yasir Khan and Sam Billings tried to rebuild the innings with a useful stand, but Mohammad Ali broke the partnership by dismissing Yasir for 24 off 30 balls.
RawalPindiz then lost wickets in quick succession. Saad Masood was run out after a direct hit from Labuschagne, while Asif Mehmood removed Billings, who scored 26 off 22 balls.
Asif Afridi added a few late runs with an unbeaten 15, but the total never looked enough on a good batting surface.
Mohammad Ali and Hunain Shah led the Kingsmen bowling effort with three wickets each, while Asif Mehmood and Glenn Maxwell picked up one apiece.
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