Hyderabad Kingsmen have breathed new life into their 2026 Pakistan Super League (PSL 11) campaign after following up their maiden win over Karachi Kings with another convincing result, beating Islamabad United by six wickets at the National Bank Stadium.
The back-to-back victories mark a dramatic turnaround for the tournament debutants, who had opened their campaign with four straight defeats before finally breaking through in the Sindh derby. With two wins in as many games now, Kingsmen suddenly look like a side finding belief, balance, and momentum at the right time.
Their latest victory was set up by Asif Mehmood, who ripped through Islamabad United’s lower order with a superb spell of 4/18, and then sealed by captain Marnus Labuschagne, who guided the chase with an unbeaten 61 off 53 balls.
Chasing 154, Hyderabad never looked overwhelmed by the target. Labuschagne anchored the innings calmly, while Maaz Sadaqat and Saim Ayub kept the scoreboard moving with brisk knocks of 30 and 35 respectively. In the end, Glenn Maxwell added the finishing touch with an unbeaten 21 off just nine balls as Kingsmen reached the target with 11 balls to spare.
For Islamabad, Chris Green and Faheem Ashraf picked up two wickets each, but the total had already looked below par after Kingsmen’s bowlers kept things tight for most of the innings.
Asked to bat first, United made a decent start through Sameer Minhas and Devon Conway, who added 56 runs for the opening wicket. Minhas struck 22 off 13 balls, while Conway top-scored with 45 off 31.
But the innings lost direction in the middle overs when both Conway and Mohammad Faiq were run out in the same over, reducing United to 89/3. The pressure kept building from there as wickets fell at regular intervals.
Mark Chapman tried to hold things together with 42 off 30 balls, but Hyderabad finished strongly, with Asif Mehmood striking repeatedly in the final over to remove Chapman, Imad Wasim, Mehran Mumtaz, and Chris Green, preventing United from posting a bigger total.
The result came a day after Kingsmen secured their first-ever PSL win by chasing down 189 against Karachi Kings in the Sindh derby. That match was defined by a strong late surge, with Muhammad Irfan Khan and Hassan Khan steering the side home after a middle-order wobble.
In that chase, Labuschagne had also provided early momentum, while Maaz Sadaqat and Usman Khan kept Kingsmen on course before Irfan and Hassan finished the job in the final over.
Together, the two wins have changed the mood around the franchise. After looking out of place early in the season, Hyderabad Kingsmen now appear to have found a working formula.
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