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Aaron Hardie’s outstanding all-round performance led Peshawar Zalmi to their second Pakistan Super League cricket title with a five-wicket win over newcomers Hyderabad Kingsmen, despite being rattled in the final chase.
Hardie took 4-27 to bowl Hyderabad out for 129 all out in 18 overs and hit a brilliant 56 not out in 39 balls to guide Peshawar to 130-5 in 15.2 overs, in front of a home crowd at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Sunday.
It completed redemption for Peshawar captain Babar Azam, who ended the T20 series as the top scorer after finding himself in Pakistan’s T20 squad in recent years.
“It’s a big win for me, for Peshawar Zalmi and all the fans,” Babar said after winning his first PSL title as captain.
“Throughout the tournament, we performed very well as a team… Every player met their goals in hitting, pitching, and fielding. Our goal was to go match by match.”
The crowd at the Gaddafi Stadium in Babar’s hometown chanted his name and spoke in euphoria as Hardie scored the team’s game-winning runs in yellow and pink.
Peshawar, who won the toss and elected to chase, slumped to 40-4 inside the first five overs after losing Babar for a golden duck, while Mohammad Haris, Kusal Mendis, and Michael Bracewell also fell for single figures.
But Hardie, who smashed four fours, then put on a match-winning 85 with Abdul Samad (48), who missed his half-century before going deep as Peshawar needed just five runs to win.
“It was a good game of cricket,” Hardie said. “The Kingsmen came out really hard. They’ve played really well in the last couple of games and they’ve made some plays, but I’m proud of the way these guys have worked.”
Peshawar were favorites for the title after losing just one match in the tournament, with Babar, who scored two centuries, equaling Fakhar Zaman’s PSL record of 588 runs in a single tournament.
Earlier, Saim Ayub (54) scored a century to help Hyderabad post 129.
Hyderabad had a comfortable 69-2, although Hardie had captain Marnus Labuschagne (20) caught after a delivery, and Maaz Sadaqat’s early attack was cut short to 11 runs when he pulled the heart of bowler Mohammad Basit towards the back of mid-wicket in the first over.
However, Hyderabad lost momentum and hit 73-6 in nine balls after a strong performance for just two runs.
Play began when Usman Khan, on his way to the final with 500s in the last three matches, was caught behind by top wicket-taker Sufyan Moqim (1-23).
Irfan Khan and Kusal Perera were dismissed by Bracewell’s sharp edge, and among the chasers, Glenn Maxwell was left behind by the pace of Nahid Rana (2-22) and caught the first ball as he pulled the fast bowler from Bangladesh.
Ayub stretched the total past 100 runs with a knock of 54 off 50 balls before falling in Hardie’s final over as he edged a pull to mid-on, before the fast bowler ended the innings by catching No 11 Akif Javed behind.
The Australian batsman, who broke down in tears after leading Hyderabad to a last-gasp victory over Islamabad United in the second round on Friday, admitted that his team did not post the target.
“As a batting team, we probably gave up a few,” Labuschagne said. “We showed again that confidence in the side is what we can do, putting them four for 40, but not enough on the board tonight.”
Hyderabad did well in the tournament as they bounced back strongly after losing their first four league games, and also knocked out both former champions Multan Sultan and Islamabad United in the playoffs.
“Night hurts,” said Labuschagne. “But considering the incredible run we’ve put together, from four losses to four wins in a row, 80 runs and 100 wins, and two wins to get to the finals, we’ve made a lot of memories and I’m proud of this team, it’s been a great effort.”
