Aaron Hardy’s superb all-round performance helped Peshawar Zalmi claim their second title in Pakistan Super League cricket with a five-wicket victory over newcomers Hyderabad Kingsman despite wobbling early in the run chase in the final.
Hardy took 4-27 to take Hyderabad all out for an under-par 129 in 18 overs in front of a packed crowd at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Sunday, before smashing a silky 56 not out from 39 balls to take Peshawar to 130-5 in 15.2 overs.
This completed the redemption arc for Peshawar captain Babar Azam, who finished the franchise-based T20 tournament as the top scorer after being in and out of Pakistan’s T20 teams in recent years.
“This is a huge achievement for me, Peshawar Zalmi and all the fans,” Babar said after winning his first PSL title as skipper.
“Throughout the tournament, we performed very well as a team…Each player executed the plan given to them in batting, bowling and fielding. Our plan was to go match by match.”
The crowd at the Gaddafi Stadium in Babar’s hometown erupted in joy, shouting his name as Hardy donned the yellow and pink jersey and scored the winning goal for his team.
Peshawar, who won the toss and chose to chase, slumped to 40-4 within the first five overs after losing Babar for a golden duck, with Mohammad Haris, Kusal Mendis and Michael Bracewell also dropping to single-digit scores.
But Hardy, who hit nine quads, combined with Abdul Samad, 48, who missed a half-century, to seal the match-winner before holing out in the deep with Peshawar needing only five runs for victory.
“It was a really good game of cricket,” Hardy said. “The Kingsmen came out of the blocks really hard. They certainly had a lot of momentum from the last few games and took advantage of it, but I’m really proud of the way they were able to fight back.”
Peshawar lost only one match in the tournament but became favorites after Babar scored a double century in one edition of the tournament, equaling Fakhar Zaman’s PSL record of 588 runs.
Earlier, Saim Ayub (54) scored a half-century and helped Hyderabad reach 129 runs.
Hyderabad put up a solid power play, scoring 2 for 69, despite Hardy falling behind on a rising shot from captain Marnus Labuschagne (20). Mars Sadakat’s early aggression was also cut to just 11 runs as pace bowler Mohammad Basit half-heartedly pulled him backwards to deep square leg in the first over.
However, Hyderabad lost momentum and lost 73-6 in the space of nine balls after just two power plays.
The skid began when Usman Khan, who was playing in the final for the first time in three consecutive matches with half a century, had his foot trapped short of the wicket by the tournament’s top wicket-taker, Sufyan Mokim (1-23).
Irrfan Khan and Kusal Perera were worn down by Bracewell’s sharp fielding and during that dismissal Glenn Maxwell was succumbed to the pace of Nahid Rana (2-22) and was caught with the first ball as he tried to pull against Bangladesh’s fast bowlers.
Ayub took his total past the 100-run mark with a knock of 54 off 50 balls, but fell on Hardy’s top edge to mid-on in the final over, but the fast bowler ended the innings with number 11 batsman Akif Javed behind him.
The Australian batsman, who was visibly moved to tears after taking Hyderabad to the final with a dramatic final-over win against Islamabad United in the second qualifier on Friday, admitted that his team did not set an impressive target.
“As a hitting group, we probably left some runs there,” Labuschagne said. “We showed once again our belief in our team and what we can do, making them 4-for-40, but we just didn’t score enough tonight.”
Hyderabad bounced back strongly after losing their first four league games and had a fairytale run in the tournament, defeating both former champions Multan Sultans and Islamabad United in the play-offs.
“It hurts tonight,” Labuschagne said. “But when I look back at the great tournament we put together, going from losing four to winning four in a row, going from being bowled out for 80 to winning by 100, then winning two games and making it to the finals, it brings back so many great memories. I’m so proud of the team. It was a great effort.”
