The final of 11th HBL Pakistan Super League edition turned out to be a one-man show as Aaron Hardie’s spectacular all-round performance led Peshawar Zalmi to their second title win on Sunday in Lahore.
They defeated Hyderabad Kingsmen by five wickets after opting to bowl first against the debutants at the Gaddafi Stadium.
Peshawar Zalmi achieved the 130-run target in the 16th over of the second innings, becoming the HBL PSL champions for a second time.
The first claimed the trophy with a win against the Quetta Gladiators in 2017.
They have now joined Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars as the winners who have lifted the PSL trophy more than once.
Zalmi’s second win was led by a stunning feat by Hardie, who took four wickets before scoring an unbeaten 56 runs off 39 deliveries. He smashed a total of nine boundaries and was named the player of the match.
They initially quickly lost four wickets after scoring just 40 runs by the end of five overs.
In a disappointing start, opener Muhammad Haris and Kusal Mendis, who batted at number three, lost their wickets on just six and nine runs, respectively. Captain Babar Azam, who opened alongside Haris and has been the season’s highest run-getter, also went back to the pavilion on a duck.
However, batsman Abdul Samad and Hardie shared a 85-run stand to change the course of the game.
Samad added 48 runs to the scoreboard before he was caught out at the boundary line.
For Hyderabad Kingsmen, medium-fast bowler Mohammad Ali clutched three wickets, playing a key role in splintering Zalmi’s top order. Meanwhile, Akif Javed and Hunain Shah took a single wicket each.
In the first innings, Saim Ayub scored 54 runs for the Kingsmen as the rest of the batting order struggled to survive the pace-buttressed attack of Peshawar Zalmi.
Hardie grabbed four crucial wickets for Zalmis, including batting prowess Glenn Maxwell, sending him back to the pavilion on a duck. He also took Saim’s wicket.
He has now become the first player to take a four-fer and hit a 50 in a PSL final.
Bangladesh’s Nahid Rana, who was called in the Zalmi squad in place of Khurram Shehzad, grabbed a couple of wickets as well, including Kingsmen captain Marnus Labuschagne.
Sufiyaan Muqeem and Muhammad Basit also clasped a wicket each for Peshawar Zalmi.
Labuschagne and Hassan Khan added 20 and 12 runs, respectively, to the scoreboard, and seven out of 11 Kingsmen batters were not able to score runs in double figures.
Peshawar Zalmi had reached the final with eight victories and after losing just one match, sealing the top spot in the points table.
Meanwhile, Kingsmen — one of the two new franchises added to the PSL circuit in this edition — secured a stunning 2-run victory over Islamabad United in the make-or-break eliminator on Friday to book a place in the final.
Kingsmen had a rough start to the campaign, losing five games in a row before getting back on track to win the next five fixtures and qualify for the playoffs.
