In a thrilling finale to the 11th HBL Pakistan Super League, Aaron Hardie’s dazzling all‑round display dominated the match and steered Peshawar Zalmi to a memorable second championship on Sunday at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.
After choosing to bowl first, Zalmi managed the game expertly and beat the Hyderabad Kingsmen — the debutants — by five wickets.
Peshawar completed the chase emphatically, reaching the 130-run target in the 16th over of the second innings to lift the HBL PSL trophy 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 performance 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.
In a disappointing start, opener Muhammad Haris and Kusal Mendis (at number three) were out for six and nine, respectively. Captain Babar Azam, who opened with Haris and has been the season’s leading run-scorer, was also dismissed for a duck.
Abdul Samad and Hardie then put on an 85-run partnership to turn the game around. Samad contributed 48 before being caught on the boundary.
For Hyderabad Kingsmen, medium-fast Mohammad Ali picked up three wickets and helped break Zalmi’s top order; Akif Javed and Hunain Shah took one wicket apiece.
In the first innings, Saim Ayub made 54 for the Kingsmen as the rest of the batting lineup struggled against Peshawar Zalmi’s pace attack. Hardie finished with four key wickets for the Zalmis, including Glenn Maxwell (a duck) and Saim.
He is now the first player to take a four-fer and score a 50 in a PSL final.