Hyderabad Kingsmen trounce Multan Sultan, qualify for PSL 2026 Eliminator 2

Hyderabad have done the unthinkable here. They have beaten Multan Sultans by a massive eight wickets, with 28 deliveries to spare. Now, in qualifier 2, they will be up against Islamabad United after a day's gap. Well done.

Just a matter of a delivery or two. Hyderabad just need three runs now. Sadaqat would like to finish the match himself.

16 runs needed in 6 overs, to qualify for the qualifier. They are all set to face Islamabad. IT should be another cracker of a contest. Meanwhile, the required run rate has slipped under 3 for now/

50 fpor Maaz Sadaqat and it comes in only 26 deliveries. He has made this chase look like child's play. All too easy at the moment.

And the 102-run partnership between Maaz and Usman has finally been ended. It is Steve Smith who has come up with the wicket. But Just 40 runs needed in 55 deliveries.

Sadaqat and Usman Khan are making this look too easy. They are nearing 100 and the partnership is worth 68. Even a cluster of wickets can't stop Hyderabad here.

Usman Khan has been great, but it has been Maaz Sadaqat who has truly killed the chase. Usman has scored 26 off 19, which is good. Sadaqat has scored same number of runs in jusy 8 balls. His strike rate stands at 325 after the powerplay. Hyderabad need just 93 off 84 to win now.

The boundaries are coming and Multan have already erred while fielding, giving away 4 overthrows in the 3rd over. 29 come off the last 2 overs. Hyderabad are flying.

Multan needed wickets in the powerplay and they have their first. Muhammad Ismail bowls it short and wide, yet Marnus Labuschagne finds the man at cover point.

What a journey this has been from Hydrabad, who had lost 4 on the trot, and now are on the verge of Qualifer 2 berth. Chase starts and Sadaqat and Labuchagne come at the top. 11 runs come here.

Take a bow, Shan Masood. Multan Sultans could have very well ended at 110-120, if the southpaw veteran had not come up with his calculated innings. In the end they score 159, and Masood remains unbeaten on 69.

What an important fifty by Shan Masood, in the context of the match. It won't be the easiest chase, and he gets to his milestone in 36 deliveries. One last push needed from him.

It is coming in quite late in the inning, but suddenly, in a space of a few deliveries, Shan Masood has struck three sixes, and Multan are touchin 130 now. 150 possible with 3 overs to go.

A slowish innings from Shan Massod has ensured that Multan at least reach 100. But that has come at snail's pace. There is a shout for a run out, but this pair survives.

Mohammad Ali has clean bowled Imran Randhawa. We are in the 14th over, and Shan Masood is still out there blocking; it would be better to get some runs now.

Partnership needed by Multan, but Akif Javed picks up his second, and his victim now is Nawaz. 120 is what looks like a realistic score.

Shan Masood is dealing in ones and twos, and maybe only this is how their innings can be resurrected. 150 should be a good total on this wicket, one feels.

It is in the most important match of the season, is when Multan batters decided to fail. Such a poor performance this has been so far. Masood and Nawaz need to take the score to 150 at least.

It's going from bad to worse. Multan captain Ashton Turner has walked back for 9 off 7. They are in a massive hole. Saim Ayub gets the big fish in his 1st over as Turner toe ends the ball to mid-wicket.

AMAZING STUFF BY HYDERABAD..!!🔥

- Steve Smith in third over.✅
- Sahibzada Farhan in fourth over.✅
- Josh Philipee in fifth over.✅
- Ashton Turner in seventh over. ✅pic.twitter.com/HVMyu5Y4mW

— usman (@cricbyusman) April 29, 2026

Hyderabad are ahead in the game. Mohammad Ali and Hunain Shah have forced Multan to reconstruct instead of attack. 47/3 is a score they'll take any day.

What is happening here. Multan have lost three inside the PP itself as Phillipe is the latest to depart. He is out LBW for 6 and this is not looking good.

And here falls another one. Hyderabad are making it look easy. Sahibzada is one who gets out now, and Multan under pressure now.

Sadaqat makes up for the misses chance and Steve Smith is a goner. Ali has a wicket, and from here on Multan has to build a partnership.

And we have the first drop of the night. Ali comes back for his second over, and he would not be a happy man, after Sadaqat misses an easy chance. This could very costly.

Second over begins, and Mohammad Ali seems to be a little injured here. He is limping here, and he is leaving the field. Meawhile a four over midwicket for Farhan. He is making his intentions clear.

Pacer Ali starts, and should be an excellent clash. Oh, the first ball sees an LBW appeal against Sahibzada Farhan, but maybe height made the difference. There is already an injury stoppage. In what has been a good over, Farhan ends it with a four over covers.

This is a good batting pitch, and given the depth in the XI, Multan should be looking at 200 at least, easy. From there on, it would be difficult for Hyderabad.

"We’re going to have a bowl. There’s no particular reason. We played really well the other night batting first, but we feel there’s usually a bit of dew that comes in. Maybe not tonight because of the wind, but the wicket tends to get better in the second innings. It’s been a unique journey in this year’s PSL - four straight defeats, then a strong comeback, and even after losing the last game to Lahore, we made it into the playoffs. It shows the character of our players and how they performed. We found some rhythm, lost it for one game when we were bowled out for 80, but then responded with a 244-run first innings. It’s been a special tournament so far, and hopefully that continues tonight. There are no team changes."

Hyderabad Kingsmen (Playing XI): Maaz Sadaqat, Saim Ayub, Marnus Labuschagne(c), Usman Khan(w), Kusal Perera, Glenn Maxwell, Hassan Khan, Irfan Khan, Hunain Shah, Mohammad Ali, Akif Javed

Multan Sultans (Playing XI): Sahibzada Farhan, Steven Smith, Josh Philippe(w), Shan Masood, Ashton Turner(c), Arafat Minhas, Mohammad Imran Randhawa, Mohammad Nawaz, Peter Siddle, Faisal Akram, Muhammad Ismail

Labuschagne and Steve Smith are on the park. Hyderabad have won the toss and opted to bowl first. Not a surprise move, as teams like to chase here.

It has been an unsaid rule this PSL, that bat first and chase down easily in the second. That theory might be faulty, but has been adopted by all. So, it should be no different in this Eliminator.

In the same match against Hyderabad, Sahibzada Farhan too was at his very best, where he went on to score 66. So, HYD bowlers will have to beware, to remove these two batters early on.

Multan would want Steve Smith to come good. He has already scored 367 runs here, and would like to only continue. In fact, in the last match vs Hyderabad, he scored 106. So watchout.

Marnus Labuschagne (C), Maaz Sadaqat, Usman Khan (wk), Saim Ayub, Kusal Perera, Glenn Maxwell, Irfan Khan, Hunain Shah, Mohammad Ali, Akif Javed, Hassan Khan

Sahibzada Farhan, Steve Smith, Josh Philippe (wk), Shan Masood, Ashton Turner (C), Arafat Minhas, Muhammad Ismail, PM Siddle, Mohammad Imran, Faisal Akram, Mohammad Wasim

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Hyderabad Kingsmen, the new franchise in their debut PSL season, are the in-form team of the playoffs. Their 108-run demolition of Rawalpindiz in Match 39 sealed playoff qualification, capping off a stunning late-tournament surge. They began with losing four matches in a row. But then, the turnaround began. 

Maxwell's 70-run blitz in that game and Kusal Perera's unbeaten 50 underlined their batting depth. Usman Khan has been their X-factor with 367 runs in 10 matches at an average of 36.7 and a strike rate of 163.11. The concern? Inconsistency. They've been bowled out for 80 against Islamabad earlier this season, and their pacers Hunain Shah and Akif Javed have leaked runs at nearly nine and ten an over. When Hyderabad are good, they're terrifying. When they collapse, it's ugly. 

The Gaddafi Stadium has been one of the more lively wickets of PSL 2026, and it's set up nicely for what should be a high-scoring eliminator. The Lahore wicket has been firmly batting-friendly this season, with the average score sitting between 180 and 190. Most teams have preferred to chase here because of the conditions in the evening.

Pacers can find some seam movement early on, and the spinners have got some grip in the middle overs, but once batters get set, the short square boundaries and quick outfield make scoring relatively straightforward. Dew is the tactical lever everyone's watching. Lahore evenings bring dew into play in the second innings, which makes life difficult for bowlers and significantly favours the chasing side. 

This is one of the youngest rivalries in PSL. Hyderabad Kingsmen only entered the league this season. So there's no historical baggage to lean on. In their two PSL 2026 group-stage meetings, the sides split the honours, with one win apiece.

Two finishes were both decided in the final overs. That tells you exactly what to expect on Wednesday, a tight contest that probably comes down to the final two or three overs. The first meeting, in Match 8, saw Multan post 227/4 and chase down 225 from HK with relative ease. The April 22 reverse fixture flipped the script. Hyderabad chased successfully, leaning on Usman Khan's contributions and a settled middle order under Marnus Labuschagne. The most recent result favouring HK gives them the slight psychological edge heading in, even if Multan's superior league position arguably means more.

• Matches Played: 2
• Multan Sultans won: 1
• Hyderabad Kingsmen won: 1