LAHORE: Debutants Hyderabad Kingsmen continued their fairytale run in the Pakistan Super League when they won their sixth of their last seven matches to qualify for Eliminator Two, convincingly defeating Multan Sultans by eight wickets with 28 balls to spare in Wednesday’s Eliminator One in Lahore.

In Friday’s Eliminator Two, Hyderabad Kingsmen — who finished fourth in the eight-team table — will take on Islamabad United, who finished second but lost to Peshawar Zalmi by 70 runs in Tuesday’s Qualifier.

Kingsmen justified their decision to field first when they reduced Sultans to 47 for three in the PowerPlay and then 67 for five at the halfway stage. Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood anchored the innings with a well-constructed 69 not out off 46 balls with four fours and four sixes to lift his side to 159 for nine — their lowest total of the competition, beating their previous lowest of 165 for five against Lahore Qalandars.

Together with Faisal Akram (four), Shan put on 34 runs in 18 balls for the ninth wicket, while the other partnership of note was for the sixth wicket when the left-hander put on 33 runs in 27 balls with Mohammad Nawaz (18).

The target proved straightforward for Kingsmen, who romped to victory in 15.2 overs — making it the fifth successive occasion a side successfully chased their target in the competition in Lahore. This was also the fifth time Hyderabad Kingsmen had won while batting second.

Opener Maaz Sadaqat scored 64 not out and Usman Khan struck 64 as the pair stitched a 102-run second-wicket partnership off 53 balls to set the tone for a comfortable victory. Maaz’s 33-ball 64 included four fours and four sixes, while Usman struck eight fours and three sixes in a 35-ball 64.

Kingsmen’s progression to Eliminator Two is no small achievement, considering they lost their first three matches before needing to beat Rawalpindiz by 86 runs or more in their final league match to qualify for the play-offs. Their only defeat in their last seven matches came against Islamabad United — their opponents on Friday — when they were skittled out for 80 in their ninth league match, going down by eight wickets with 80 balls to spare.

Their six victories have come against Karachi Kings (four wickets), Islamabad United (six wickets), Rawalpindiz (five wickets), Multan Sultans (four wickets), Rawalpindiz (108 runs) and Multan Sultans (eight wickets).

Maaz Sadaqat was named Player of the Match for his excellent knock.

Scores in brief:

Match 42 (Eliminator 1) – Hyderabad Kingsmen beat Multan Sultans by eight wickets, Lahore

MULTAN SULTANS 159-9, 20 overs (Shan Masood 69 not out, Mohammad Nawaz 18, Sahibzada Farhan 15, Steve Smith 13; Akif Javed 2-30, Hunain Shah 2-31, Mohammd Ali 2-34)

HYDERABAD KINGSMEN 162-2, 15.2 overs (Maaz Sadaqat 64 not out, Usman Khan 64, Saim Ayub 15 not out)

PLAYER OF THE MATCH – Maaz Sadaqat (Hyderabad Kingsmen)

FRIDAY’S FIXTURE (Eliminator 2) – Islamabad United vs Hyderabad Kingsmen, Lahore