After losing the first four of their fixtures, Hyderabad Kingsmen managed to pull off a comeback. They have won three games consecutively since then and rejuvenated their playoff chances. However, they are still nowhere near the safe zone.
Three wins have given them six points, and they would need to win all of their remaining games to stay in contention for the fourth spot.
That does not sound as easy because two of their three remaining games are scheduled against Multan Sultans and Islamabad United. While Kingsmen were able to down Islamabad in the previous match, Multan were a tough nut to crack even when Hyderabad posted 225.
Hyderabad’s best chance to match Multan’s prowess would be to bat at their best. Even then, their bowlers will have to bring something to keep things tight. Barring Maheesh Theekshana, none of their other specialist bowlers has played T20Is regularly.
In fact, only Mohammad Ali (3 T20Is) and Riley Meredith (6 T20Is) have been capped in the format internationally. This, of course, puts an extra burden on the batters, which is why even a 225-run target was not enough for their bowlers to defend.
Head-to-Head Matches:
Hyderabad and Multan have faced each other in only one fixture so far, which was won by the latter.
Probable Playing XI:
Multan Sultans:
Sahibzada Farhan, Steve Smith, Ashton Turner (c), Shan Masood, Josh Philippe (wk), Muhammad Nawaz, Arafat Minhas, Muhammad Imran, Peter Siddle, Muhammad Waseem Jnr, Momin Qamar
Hyderabad Kingsmen:
Maaz Sadaqat, Marnus Labuschagne (c), Usman Khan (wk), Saim Ayub, Kusal Perera, Glenn Maxwell, Irfan Khan Niazi, Hassan Khan, Hunain Shah, Asif Mehmood, Mohammad Ali.
Where to Watch:
Australia & New Zealand: ESPN
Bangladesh: T Sports, Tapmad (live stream)
Middle East & North Africa (MENA): Cricbuzz (live stream), Switch TV, Cricbuzz TV on ELIFE, STARZPLAY (live stream)
Sri Lanka: Dialog TV, Tapmad (live stream), VIU Hub (live stream)
Nepal: Tapmad (live stream)
United Kingdom: ARY Digital, ARY Plus
United States & Canada: Willow TV, Willow Sports, Willow (by Cricbuzz) (live stream)
Pakistan: PTV, A Sports, Geo Super, Ten Sports, Tapmad (live stream), Tamasha (live stream), Myco (live stream)
Rest of the World: Tapmad (live stream)
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