Peshawar Zalmi Defeats Hyderabad Kingsmen by Five Wickets to Claim Second PSL Title

Peshawar Zalmi won their second Pakistan Super League title on May 4, 2026, defeating Hyderabad Kingsmen by five wickets in the final at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. 2 overs after bowling out Hyderabad for 129 in 18 overs. Al Jazeera reported that Aaron Hardie, an Australian batter, took 4 wickets for 27 runs and scored 56 not out off 39 balls, earning him the player of the final award.

Peshawar Zalmi won the toss and chose to chase in the match held on Sunday, May 4, 2026. Hyderabad Kingsmen, newcomers to the PSL in 2026, were led by captain Marnus Labuschagne and posted 129 all out. Saim Ayub top-scored for Hyderabad with 54 runs off 50 balls, while the team reached 69 for 2 in the power play but slumped to 73 for 6 after adding just two runs in nine balls post-power play.

Aaron Hardie dismissed Marnus Labuschagne, who scored 20 runs, caught behind off a rising delivery. Maaz Sadaqat scored 11 runs before being dismissed in the first over, caught at deep backward square leg off Mohammad Basit's bowling. Usman Khan, who had scored half-centuries in the last three successive games before the final, was trapped leg before wicket by Sufyan Moqim, who took 1 wicket for 23 runs and was the leading wicket-taker in the 2026 PSL tournament.

Irfan Khan was run out due to fielding by Michael Bracewell, and Kusal Perera was also run out by Bracewell's sharp fielding. Glenn Maxwell was caught off Nahid Rana's bowling for a first-ball duck, with Rana, a fast bowler from Bangladesh, finishing with 2 wickets for 22 runs. Saim Ayub fell in Hardie's last over, top-edging a pull to mid-on, and Akif Javed, Hyderabad's No.

11 batter, was caught behind off Hardie's bowling. In the chase, Peshawar Zalmi, wearing yellow and pink kits, reached 40 for 4 in the first five overs. Babar Azam was dismissed for a golden duck, while Mohammad Haris, Kusal Mendis, and Michael Bracewell were all dismissed for single-digit scores.

Hardie then formed an 85-run partnership with Abdul Samad, who scored 48 runs before being dismissed when Peshawar needed five runs to win. Hardie hit nine fours in his innings of 56 not out off 39 balls, sealing the victory as the crowd at Gaddafi Stadium chanted Babar Azam's name and erupted in joy.

Spectators cheered for Peshawar Zalmi throughout the match in Lahore, which is Babar Azam's hometown.

He added, 'Throughout the tournament, we’ve performed really well as a team … Every player executed the plans they were given in batting, bowling, and fielding. He continued, 'Kingsmen came out of the blocks really hard. Peshawar Zalmi lost only one game in the 2026 PSL tournament, with Babar Azam scoring two centuries and equaling Fakhar Zaman's PSL record of 588 runs in one edition.

Hyderabad Kingsmen lost their first four league games in the 2026 PSL tournament but won four in a row, including a game by 100 runs after being bowled out for 80 in another. They knocked out former champions Multan Sultans and Islamabad United in the playoffs. Labuschagne led them to the final with a last-over win over Islamabad United on Friday before May 4, 2026.

Peshawar Zalmi's first PSL title was nine years before May 4, 2026. The PSL is a franchise-based T20 cricket tournament.