Hunain Shah made big waves after he successfully defended five runs in his last over to guide Hyderabad Kingsmen into the final of the 2026 Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Friday. Think about it, he gave away just three runs under pressure!
Chasing 187 to win, Islamabad United were looking good to get over the line; for, New Zealand’s Mark Chapman was looking imperious, but in the 17th over, Hunain had him caught by Sri Lankan Kusal Perera for 43 (26 balls). It was a big blow to Islamabad United, and to all intents and purposes, the match went into the final over only because of Hunain.
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And then in the final over, the 22-year-old put on a yorkers masterclass to stun Islamabad, who would have fancied themselves at that time with Pakistan allrounder Faheem Ashraf at the crease. However, Hunain removed him off the fourth ball of the over. Off the remaining two balls, Chris Green and Imad Wasim remained helpless as Hyderabad qualified for the final.
“We had to go in with one plan, bowl six yorkers,” Hunain said at the post-match press conference after a two-run win for Hyderabad Kingsmen. “We kept it simple. We had to save six runs. We just needed to adjust the line of the yorker, but it had to be a yorker,” he added.
It runs in the family!
Hunain Shah is the brother of Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah, and now one can safely say that quality fast bowling runs in their family. Ubaid Shah is another brother who also plays in the PSL, for Lahore Qalandars. Hunain said he put in a lot of effort in the past few months with a sole purpose in his mind: to shine in the PSL. And what an occasion he chose to do that.
“I’ve worked a lot over the past six months with a view to performing in this PSL. I felt whenever I got the chance, I’d perform here because I had a lot of tough times and injuries earlier. This is a result of my hard work. I spent a whole week just bowling yorkers, so that I made sure I could nail them when the team needed them.”
Hyderabad Kingsmen, PSL debutants, had a remarkable campaign. Under Aussie Marnus Labuschagne, they lost their first four matches straight, but after that, they launched a massive comeback. Not only did they reach the play-offs, but they are now in the final too. Now they play Babar Azam’s Peshawar Zalmi in the trophy showdown on Sunday.