PSL 2026 Results: Aaron Hardy stars as Peshawar Zalmi win second title

Australian all-rounder Aaron Hardy starred with bat and ball as Peshawar Zalmi defeated Hyderabad Kingsmen to win their second Pakistan Super League title.

Hardy took 4-27 as Kingsmen were bowled out for 129, then top-scored with an unbeaten 56 as Peshawar chased down 130 with 28 balls to spare.

Topping the table in the group stage, Zalmi defeated Islamabad United in the qualifiers before chasing a low score in the final to end their nine-year title drought.

The Kingsmen, who reached the final in their first season of existence, went into bat in Lahore and reached 71-2 shortly after the powerplay.

Their innings took a nosedive at that point, as they lost four wickets for three runs, with Michael Bracewell running out both Irfan Khan Niazi and Kushal Perera.

Saim Ayub offered some resistance, scoring a steady 54 off 50 balls to drag his team’s score to three figures.

He became Hardy’s third victim, and Seamer – who had already dismissed openers Marnus Labuschagne and Hasan Khan – then removed Akif Javed five balls later to end the Kingsmen’s innings with two overs to spare.

While 130 looked a challenging score to defend, the Kingsmen overwhelmed their opponents in the first over as seamer Mohammad Ali first dismissed Mohammad Haris (6) and then Peshawar captain Babar Azam for a golden duck.

Peshawar trailed 40-4 when Kusal Mendis (9) and Bracewell (4) returned to the dugout.

But from there, Hardy and Abdul Samad (48) made a partnership of 85 runs for the fifth wicket to remove Peshawar from the problem.

Ali caught Samad needing five runs, finishing with figures of 3-38, but Pakistan Under-19 captain Farhan Yousuf ended the match with four as Kingman’s low total proved too challenging to defend.