Marnus Labuschagne and Glenn Maxwell are celebrating a triumph over a group of their Australian international teammates as they close in on potential glory in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Neither of the two veterans had standout days for the Hyderabad Kingsmen in their eliminator clash on Wednesday against an Ashton Turner-captained Multan Sultans side featuring Steve Smith, Peter Siddle, and Josh Philippe.
However, Labuschagne, captain of a Kingsmen outfit that endured a disastrous start to the tournament, was left celebrating an emotional victory as his side moved one match away from Sunday's final after dominating to secure an eight-wicket win at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium.
"It's really hard to put into words what it means for the franchise; it is really special," beamed Labuschagne, who has been praised for his leadership while also scoring a couple of key half-centuries during the competition.
"I am so proud of the guys from where we were — not winning a game over the first four games and then finding our feet in the back half of the tournament."
Labuschagne was dismissed by a stunning catch at point by Sahibzada Farhan for just 11 as Hyderabad chased Multan's below-par total of 9-159. However, a century second-wicket stand between Usman Khan (64) and opener Maaz Sadaqat (64 not out) ensured no alarms as they cruised to victory at 2-162 with 28 balls remaining.
It was an anticlimactic end for Multan, dubbed the PSL's "Aussie team," as they were outplayed by a Hyderabad side that was always in control once Labuschagne won the toss and asked his old pal Smith to bat.
Smith had been in rich form, scoring 56, 106, and 30 in his last three innings, but he lost out in his early absorbing heavyweight clash with veteran Test paceman Mohammad Ali. He hit Ali for a couple of fours but was dropped on the third ball at third man and then caught from a quicker delivery three balls later that looped off the splice, departing for 13 off 10 balls.
It was a calamity for the Sultans, with wicketkeeper Philippe falling lbw for six and Turner caught for nine when attempting to hit the side out of trouble.
Their three key Australian batters were gone with only 51 on the board, and a late show of defiance from Shan Masood (69 not out) was needed to give them a defendable target.
"We lost a little bit of momentum over the last couple of games, and we've unfortunately ended our campaign with some of our worst cricket," sighed Turner.
Maxwell (1-28 off three overs) chipped in with a useful wicket and did not even need to bat as the Kingsmen eased to victory, with Smith being clubbed for two straight sixes near the end of the rout before grabbing the consolation wicket of Usman.
Labuschagne's team will now meet Islamabad United, featuring Chris Green, in Friday's second eliminator, with the winners advancing to the final in Lahore on Sunday against Peshawar Zalmi, who boast another Australian allrounder, Aaron Hardie.
