That's all the action from the match today, folks. Thank you for tuning in. Do join Rvel Zahid for the second match of the double-header here. This is Rashad Mahbub signing off on behalf of Harshith Gowda and the rest of the ESPNcricinfo crew. Go well!
Marnus Labuschagne: "[Fourth in the table] That's some good news post-game. I think we're just finding our balance and our blend. It's nice to get three on the bounce. [It's all coming together now] I think that's what we kept stressing during those times where it wasn't going well; there were some really good things we were doing. We just wanted to keep reiterating that to the team and saying we're not that far away. We've been able to put some really good performances together, even today. It was a little more niggling with that low score on a tricky wicket, but Niazi and KP [Perera] did such a great job to finish the game off for us. [Hunain and Mohammad Ali] They've just been so clinical in the way they've gone about it. They've read the game and understood the conditions, and I'm so impressed with them. It's nice to be where we are now."
Player of the Match: Hunain Shah
Muhammad : "Picked the best squad but played the worst cricket. Blame captain, coach and management and senior players "
5:50 pm It was a fresh surface here in Karachi, yet wickets continued to tumble as batters from both sides struggled to find their rhythm. Asif Afridi was exceptional with the new ball, removing Sadaqat then also dismissing Saim within the powerplay. Struggling at 35/3 after the first six overs, the Kingsmen saw Labuschagne and Perera launch a counter-attack to ease the mounting pressure. Labuschagne eventually departed for a knock of 32 off 21 balls, trapped in front by Masood. When Sears knocked back Maxwell's stumps for a golden duck in the very next over, the game was tumbling on a knife-edge. However, Irfan and Perera effectively took the game away from the Pindiz, rotating the strike and finding the boundary to keep the scoreboard moving. Their unbeaten 54-run partnership, with Perera on 34 and Irfan on 32, steered the team home. For the Pindiz, they remain winless after six matches and look increasingly clueless on the field. While they are still mathematically alive in the playoff race, they now face the daunting task of winning all their remaining games while relying on other results to go their way.
Hyderabad Kingsmen won by 5 wickets
