Steve Smith’s frustration boiled over at the Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday night as the Australian batter was caught on camera slamming his bat in the dressing room following an early dismissal in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2026 Eliminator 1 between Multan Sultans and Hyderabad Kingsmen.
The footage spread rapidly across social media, becoming one of the more talked-about moments of the knockout stage.
Smith walked off the ground visibly fuming after his dismissal, and it later transpired that he took his bat into the dressing room and smashed it on the floor.
The trigger for his mood was a sequence of events that unfolded in the third over. Smith was given a lifeline when Maaz Sadaqat dropped him in the same over, but the chance did not prove costly as Sadaqat held on to the next opportunity to send him back.
The young fielder, visibly pumped after making amends, celebrated aggressively, throwing the ball to the ground after completing the catch. That reaction did not sit well with Smith, who made his feelings clear as he walked off.
Smith managed just 12 runs before Mohammad Ali removed him, with pavilion cameras capturing the aftermath in the dressing room.
The dismissal set the tone for a difficult night for Multan. After losing Smith early, they slipped to 55/5 before Shan Masood steadied the innings with an unbeaten 69 off 46 balls, guiding them to 159/9 in 20 overs. No other Multan batter crossed 20 runs, and the total quickly proved inadequate.
Hyderabad Kingsmen made light work of the chase. Maaz Sadaqat and Usman Khan brushed off the early loss of captain Marnus Labuschagne and put on a dominant stand, with the pair plundering 49 runs in the final four overs of the Powerplay alone. Usman Khan smashed 64 off 35 balls while Sadaqat remained unbeaten on 64 off 32 balls, sealing the win with 28 balls to spare. Sadaqat, the same man at the centre of the on-field drama earlier in the evening, ended up having the last laugh in the most emphatic way possible.
Smith had been one of the most consistent performers for Multan this season, scoring 380 runs in 11 innings with two half-centuries and a century, at a strike rate of 161.70. His early exit in a knockout fixture, at the cost of just 13 runs off 10 balls, summed up a night where the Sultans never found their footing.
With the win, Hyderabad Kingsmen advance to Eliminator 2 where they face Islamabad United, with the winner earning a place in the final against Peshawar Zalmi on May 3. For Multan Sultans, the season is over.
