RawalPindiz choose to field against Hyderabad Kingsmen in crucial PSL 11 match

KARACHI: RawalPindiz won the toss and elected to bowl first against Hyderabad Kingsmen in the penultimate group-stage match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) at the National Bank Stadium on Sunday.

The fixture carries major significance for Hyderabad Kingsmen, who are placed sixth on the points table and need a comprehensive win to stay in contention for a playoff berth. The Kingsmen must take their tally to 10 points and also move ahead of Lahore Qalandars, who are currently in fourth place, on net run rate.

The exact target margin was not immediately certain before the first innings concluded, but Hyderabad were likely to require a victory by around 85 runs, or if chasing, to complete the pursuit in approximately 10 overs.

RawalPindiz, meanwhile, entered the match already out of the tournament after a disappointing campaign. They had managed only one win in their nine matches before Sunday’s game.

Playoff equation

The result is particularly important in the context of the race for the final playoff position. Hyderabad Kingsmen remain in the hunt, while Lahore Qalandars are the side they need to overtake through a superior net run rate if they are to progress.

With the Kingsmen sitting sixth before the match, a simple win was not expected to be enough on its own. Their qualification hopes depended on both securing victory and doing so by a substantial margin.

Teams

Hyderabad Kingsmen named Marnus Labuschagne as captain and Hassan Khan as vice-captain in their squad. The rest of the players listed for the side were Usman Khan, Akif Javed, Maaz Sadaqat, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Ali, Kusal Perera, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Shayan Jahangir, Glenn Maxwell, Hammad Azam, Riley Meredith, Sharjeel Khan, Asif Mehmood, Hunain Shah, Rizwan Mehmood, Saad Ali, Tayyab Arif, Maheesh Theekshana and Ahmed Hussain.

RawalPindiz were led by Mohammad Rizwan. Their listed players were Sam Billings, Jalat Khan, Yasir Khan, Rishad Hossain, Mohammad Amir, Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt, Dian Forrestor, Asif Afridi, Kamran Ghulam, Razaullah, Mohammad Amir Khan, Shahzaib Khan, Cole McConchie, Usman Khawaja and Saad Masood.

The match was being played at Karachi’s National Bank Stadium and further updates were expected as play progressed.