Peshawar Zalmi beat Hyderabad Kingsmen by 5 wickets, lift PSL trophy a second time

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 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. 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 t