Peshawar Zalmi are Pakistan Super League (PSL) champions again, defeating Hyderabad Kingsmen by five wickets in the final at the iconic Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Aaron Hardie delivered a match-winning all-round performance for Peshawar Zalmi, taking four wickets with the ball before scoring an unbeaten fifty in the run chase.
The victory ended the nine-year wait for the Peshawar-based franchise to win the title, with their previous PSL triumph coming back in 2017 under the captaincy of Darren Sammy.
For star batter and Peshawar Zalmi captain Babar Azam, the win represented the first major trophy of his professional cricketing career to date.
The run chase
While chasing a target of 130 runs, the Babar Azam-led Zalmi reached the total in 15.2 overs, completing victory with 28 balls remaining and five wickets down overall.
The opening over proved disastrous for the champions, as Mohammad Ali dismissed both opening batters Mohammad Haris for six runs and Babar Azam for a duck.
The Australian all-rounder and Sri Lankan batter Kusal Mendis steadied the innings with a 26-run stand, before Mendis was dismissed in the fourth over for nine runs.
Michael Bracewell then fell for four runs, caught behind off the bowling of left-arm pacer Akif Javed, leaving Peshawar Zalmi in serious trouble at 40 for four.
Hardie was joined by Abdul Samad, and the pair rebuilt with a crucial match-winning 85-run partnership that brought Peshawar Zalmi firmly back into contention.
Mohammad Ali broke the stand in the 15th over, dismissing Samad for 48 off 34 balls, an innings decorated with three fours and four sixes.
Hardie remained unbeaten on 56 off 39 balls, hitting nine boundaries as he guided Peshawar Zalmi over the line and claimed the player of the match award.
Mohammad Ali finished as the most successful bowler for the newly added franchise, claiming three wickets for 38 runs across his full allocation of four overs.
Zalmi restrict Kingsmen to 129
Skipper Babar Azam opted to field after winning the toss, a decision that paid off as Peshawar Zalmi bowled Hyderabad Kingsmen out for 129 in 18 overs.
Hyderabad Kingsmen lost their first wicket early when Maaz Sadaqat was dismissed by Mohammad Basit in the second over for 11 runs with 16 on the board.
Left-handed batter Saim Ayub and skipper Marnus Labuschagne then added 35 runs in 19 deliveries before Hardie had the Australian caught behind in the fifth over.
The Australian batting great Labuschagne contributed a brisk 20 off 12 balls, striking three fours and a six, before his dismissal ended a positive start for the Kingsmen.
Usman Khan made eight before being trapped lbw by PSL 11’s leading wicket-taker Sufiyan Muqeem, triggering a damaging middle-order collapse for Kingsmen.
Hyderabad Kingsmen lost three further wickets in just eight deliveries, two of them run-outs, slipping rapidly to 73 for six by the end of 7.5 overs.
Hassan Khan fell for 12 in the tenth over, caught off Hardie’s bowling after contributing a brief 17-run stand alongside set batter Saim Ayub.
Saim top-scored for the Kingsmen with 54 off 50 deliveries, hitting five fours and two sixes before being dismissed by Hardie in the 18th over.
Hardie also claimed the wicket of Akif Javed for five in the same over, wrapping up the innings with match figures of four wickets for 27 runs.
Nahid Rana took two wickets for Zalmi, while Sufiyan Muqeem and Mohammad Basit each contributed one wicket to complete a dominant bowling display.
