It was never going to be complicated. Five runs to defend, six balls to bowl, season on the line. “We had to go in with one plan, bowl six yorkers,” Hunain Shah said afterwards, shoulders still heaving. The 22-year-old did just that – well, five out of six – and Hyderabad Kingsmen squeezed past Islamabad United by two runs to reach Sunday’s PSL final.
Kingsmen skipper Marnus Labuschagne had little choice. His senior quicks were done, United’s lower order was flying after plundering 22 from the 19th over, and the ball was wet enough to make grip awkward. Hunain took it anyway. Earlier in the week he’d spoken about Jason Gillespie’s constant refrain: know your delivery before you start the run-up, then commit. Here was the test.
First ball: a heavy length, a touch wide. Chris Green swung, missed. Not the yorker Hunain wanted, but no damage. The next five were right in the blockhole – the classic fuller-than-full delivery aimed at the batsman’s toes – two of them speared across the left-handers to keep them out of the hitting arc. Imad Wasim pinched a single, Faheem Ashraf found a fielder, panic set in and suddenly United needed three from the last ball. Hunain rifled it in again, Ashraf could only dig it out, and the Kingsmen huddle erupted.
“I’ve worked a lot over the past six months with a view to performing in this PSL,” Hunain said. “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.” The youngster mentioned a solitary week spent doing little else but bowling yorkers at practice. “I spent a whole week just bowling yorkers, so that I made sure I could nail them when the team needed them.”
The last-over miracle was rare territory. No PSL play-off side had ever defended so few, and across ten seasons it had happened only twice in the group stage. United, so composed throughout their chase, realised too late that the game had slipped. Imad’s forlorn trudge off told its own story.
Kingsmen’s dressing-room staff were quick to point out this finish had its roots in defeat earlier in the tournament. Game four, also a low score to defend, also Hunain at the death. Back then he leaked a low full-toss and a half-volley; Peshawar Zalmi won off the final ball, and the young seamer was in tears. “I first played against Peshawar Zalmi,” he recalled. “I couldn’t defend the runs. It’s not unusual that you do bo” – the sentence trailed off but the memory lingered.
This time the execution was flawless. Analyst Rameez Raja, on TV duty, called it “a lesson in clarity”. Others simply applauded the nerve. Five yorkers out of six on demand is not textbook; it’s drilling meeting belief.
Kingsmen still have issues – the top order stumbled again, and the middle overs lacked bite – yet they find their way into a final few tipped them for after three straight defeats at the start of the season. Labuschagne, asked why he backed the rookie, shrugged: “He’d bowled the best yorkers in the nets all week. Sometimes it’s that simple.”
United will rue small choices. Green admitted they thought one big swing would finish it. “Credit where it’s due, he hit his lengths,” the Australian all-rounder said. “We probably got a bit ahead of ourselves.”
For Hunain, there’s barely time to take stock. The final is in two days, and fatigue has a habit of sneaking up on young fast bowlers. Still, nights like this build reputations quickly. “You believe you can execute when you’ve worked on it. If you’re mentally clear, execution becomes easier. I went for six yorkers, set the field accordingly, believed, and did it.”
Not perfect, never easy, but good enough. And sometimes, as Kingsmen discovered under those Friday-night lights, good enough is everything.
