United book HBL PSL 11 playoff spot with dominant win over Kingsmen

Islamabad United produced a commanding performance after they crushed Hyderabad Kingsmen by eight wickets in the 36th match of the ongoing HBL PSL 2026 at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi on Friday night.

The victory, their fifth of the season, secured a place in the playoffs alongside table-toppers Peshawar Zalmi and former champions Multan Sultans.

Chasing a modest target of 81, Islamabad made light work of the chase, reaching 80/2 in just 6.4 overs with 80 balls remaining.

Their innings got off to a shaky start as Devon Conway was dismissed for a duck in the second delivery.

However, Sameer Minhas and Mohsin Riaz then took control with a fluent 79-run partnership for the second wicket. Mohsin was the standout performer with a quickfire 42 off 18 balls, including six fours and two sixes, before being dismissed by Mohammad Ali.

Minhas remained unbeaten on 27 off 20 deliveries, while captain Shadab Khan finished the match in style, ending the game in 6.4 overs.

First innings

After being put into bat, the Kingsmen batters produced a meek display in contrast to their last one against the Multan Sultans getting rattled out for just 80 in 15.5 overs.

The innings collapsed early when Maaz Sadaqat fell on the very first ball to Richard Gleeson, who went on to dismantle the top order with wickets of Marnus Labuschagne and Saim Ayub.

The pressure was sustained by the spin duo of Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim, who together ripped through the middle and lower order with three wickets each.

Despite a fighting effort from Usman Khan, who scored an unbeaten 25 off 35 balls, Hyderabad never recovered. Kusal Perera and Asif Mehmood added 12 runs each, but no other batter reached double figures.

For Islamabad, Gleeson, Imad Wasim, and Shadab Khan all claimed three wickets apiece, while Salman Mirza contributed with one wicket in a dominant all-round display.