Hardie's all-round final wins Babar his first PSL title as Peshawar Zalmi clinch their second
Aaron Hardie walked out to bat at Gaddafi Stadium with Peshawar Zalmi already three wickets down in the first five overs, the chase against Hyderabad Kingsmen suddenly looking less routine than the modest target of 130 had suggested. Two hours later he walked off unbeaten on 56 from 39 balls, with the second Pakistan Super League trophy in Zalmi's history under one arm and the player-of-the-match medal under the other. Babar Azam, gone for a golden duck off the second ball of the chase, finally has a PSL title as captain.
The five-wicket win at Lahore on Sunday night ended a long wait. Peshawar last lifted the trophy in 2017. The bowling won this one long before the chase ever started.
Hardie does it twice
Hyderabad Kingsmen, the debutants who had ridden Saim Ayub's batting and a Hunain Shah masterclass through the play-offs, never set a pace at the Gaddafi. Sent in by Babar after a successful toss, they leaned the entire innings on Saim, who finished with 54 from 50. Around him, Hardie did the damage. The Australian all-rounder swung the new ball back into the right-handers and took four wickets across his four overs, finishing with figures of 4 for 27 as the Kingsmen folded for 129 in 18 overs. Marnus Labuschagne, captaining the franchise in its debut PSL final, edged Hardie behind for 20.
It was a total that felt 30 short on the surface and another 20 short once the lights came up. Whatever Saim's effort represented, his middle order had nothing to add. The Kingsmen handed the trophy match to a chase that even a calamitous Zalmi powerplay could not unsettle for long.
Samad and the steady hand
Mohammad Ali made sure of that calamity in the first over. Mohammad Haris holed out for six trying to clear midwicket, then Babar edged a wide one through to the keeper for a duck two balls later. Kusal Mendis fell for nine soon after, edging Hunain Shah to backward point, and Zalmi were three down with the asking rate creeping up.
Hardie and Abdul Samad refused to follow the script. Samad, who finished 48 from 34 with three fours and four sixes, played the aggressor, taking the spinners on through the middle overs while Hardie rotated strike and milked the singles. Their stand was worth 85 by the time Ali returned and had Samad hole out at deep mid-wicket off a slower ball.
By then the equation was small enough for the lower order to finish it. Peshawar reached 130 for 5 in the 16th over, with 28 balls to spare. The trophy presentation, deferred for nine seasons, came under floodlights with confetti and a Babar finally lifting the cup as captain.
Where it leaves both sides
For Babar, this is the trophy that completes a difficult cycle. He had captained Pakistan, lost the captaincy, lifted himself back into form, and now adds a domestic title to a CV that had been heavy on individual records and short on team silverware. For Hyderabad Kingsmen, a debut season that ended in a final is no shame. Saim Ayub finished as the top scorer in this final, and the kind of consistency he has shown all tournament will travel. The Kingsmen will be back, but Sunday belonged to Hardie, to Samad, and finally to Babar.
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