Aaron Hardie Leads Peshawar Zalmi to PSL Title Over Hyderabad Kingsmen
The victory secures Peshawar's second PSL championship and its first since 2017, while delivering captain Babar Azam his first major trophy as a team leader.
Aaron Hardie secured a four-wicket haul and scored an unbeaten half-century to lead Peshawar Zalmi to a five-wicket victory over the Hyderabad Kingsmen in the Pakistan Super League final on Sunday at Gaddafi Stadium.
The victory secures Peshawar's second PSL championship and its first since 2017, while delivering captain Babar Azam his first major trophy as a team leader.
Chasing a target of 130, Peshawar overcame an early batting collapse to reach the mark with 28 balls remaining. Hardie scored 56 not out off 39 deliveries and anchored a decisive 85-run partnership with Abdul Samad, who contributed a 34-ball 48, after the team fell to 40 for four in the fifth over.
Hyderabad fast bowler Mohammad Ali initially disrupted the run chase by dismissing openers Mohammad Haris and Azam in the first over, eventually finishing with three wickets for 38 runs.
Earlier, Peshawar elected to field and dismissed the debutant Kingsmen for 129 in 18 overs. Saim Ayub top-scored for Hyderabad with 54 runs off 50 balls, but the innings was derailed by a middle-order collapse that saw the team lose three wickets—two via run-outs—in the space of eight deliveries.
Hardie led the Peshawar bowling attack with figures of four for 27. Fast bowler Nahid Rana claimed two wickets, while Sufiyan Muqeem and Mohammad Basit each took one.