Islamabad United blink in last over as Hyderabad Kingsmen win cliffhanger to make PSL decider

LAHORE: Who in this world would have thought a couple of weeks ago that debutants Hyderabad Kingsmen, having lost four of their first five initial-stage matches of the HBL Pakistan Super League, will make it to the decider as Islamabad United blinked in the final over of the action-packed encounter. The ultra-passionate fans present here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday night found themselves extremely lucky. Why not? They witnessed an absolute nail-biting Eliminator-2. Marnus Labuschagne’s energised sprint to the field immediately after the two-run triumph explicitly showed that Peshawar Zalmi will face a rejuvenated Kingsmen brigade in the all-important final on Sunday. Fielding is not generally considered a forte in this part of the world. However, the way Kingsmen’s Hassan Khan in an extraordinary leap in the air at mid-wicket boundary prevented a six off Faheem Ashraf’s bat in the 17th over was as stunning as anything. United went through ebb and flow in their chase of a tough 187 and fell short in the very end by a whisker. HYDERABAD Kingsmen fast bowler Hunain Shah rejoices after winning the Eliminator-2 against Islamabad United. —White Star Needing 28 off the final two overs, Faheem Ashraf (19 off 11 balls) and Chris Green (21 not out off nine) collected a whopping 22 runs off pacer Mohammad Ali’s 19th over as United came mighty close to entering the decider. Fast bowler Hunain Shah, however, had kept his very best for this moment. Steaming in to bowl with only six runs to defend, the right-armer did not give Green and Faheem any room to go for a big hit and gave away only one run off the first three balls. On the fourth, Faheem was caught by Hassan Khan at long-off while the fifth ball went only for a single as Hunain maintained an intelligent line and length under pressure. Requiring four of the very last, Green could only manage a single as the pacer and his team-mates rejoiced. In a forgettable start to their chase, United lost Sameer Minhas who misjudge