Final scorecard summary
| Innings | Score | Overs |
|---|---|---|
| Hyderabad Kingsmen | 129 all out | 18.0 |
| Peshawar Zalmi | 130/5 | 15.2 |
Result: Peshawar Zalmi won by 5 wickets (28 balls to spare). Toss: Zalmi chose to bowl. Player of the match: Aaron Hardie (4-27 & 56*).
How the final was won
Kingsmen's collapse. Put in to bat, Hyderabad lost wickets in clumps — including four for two runs in eight balls, two of them run-outs — and were bowled out for 129, the lowest first-innings total in a PSL final. Only Saim Ayub (54 off 50) offered resistance.
Zalmi's wobble, then control. Chasing 130, Zalmi lost both openers in the first over — Mohammad Haris for 6, then captain Babar Azam for a golden duck — and slipped to 40/4. Then Aaron Hardie (56* off 39) and Abdul Samad (48 off 34) put on 85 for the fifth wicket and walked it home.
The two roads to Lahore
Hyderabad Kingsmen — the fairy-tale. The debut franchise lost its first four matches and looked dead. Then they won seven of eight to storm into the final — new-team energy, fearless cricket, and a city that adopted them instantly. Marnus Labuschagne captained them to the final while scoring 344 runs. It fell apart on the night, but the season was a triumph anyway.
Peshawar Zalmi — the redemption. Nine years since 2017, and Babar Azam's wait for a major trophy as captain. Zalmi were the steady ones: Babar's 588 runs carried the batting, the attack did enough, and when the final wobbled at 40/4, Hardie and Samad played the two most important innings of the season.
Season awards and key performers
| Award | Winner | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Champions | Peshawar Zalmi | 2nd title (2017, 2026) |
| Green Cap (most runs) | Babar Azam | 588 runs — full top 10 |
| Player of the Tournament | Sufiyan Muqeem | 22 wickets — all-time charts |
| Final POTM | Aaron Hardie | 4-27 & 56* |
Every PSL champion
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Islamabad United | Quetta Gladiators | The first one |
| 2017 | Peshawar Zalmi | Quetta Gladiators | Zalmi's first |
| 2018 | Islamabad United | Peshawar Zalmi | Back-to-back finals, split |
| 2019 | Quetta Gladiators | Peshawar Zalmi | Quetta's only title so far |
| 2020 | Karachi Kings | Lahore Qalandars | Kings' only title |
| 2021 | Multan Sultans | Peshawar Zalmi | Sultans' only title |
| 2022 | Lahore Qalandars | Multan Sultans | Qalandars' first |
| 2023 | Lahore Qalandars | Multan Sultans | Back-to-back |
| 2024 | Islamabad United | Multan Sultans | United's third |
| 2025 | Lahore Qalandars | Quetta Gladiators | Won by 6 wickets; Qalandars' 3rd title |
| 2026 | Peshawar Zalmi | Hyderabad Kingsmen | Won by 5 wickets; Zalmi's 2nd |
PSL titles by team
| Team | Titles | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Islamabad United | 3 | 2016, 2018, 2024 |
| Lahore Qalandars | 3 | 2022, 2023, 2025 |
| Peshawar Zalmi | 2 | 2017, 2026 |
| Quetta Gladiators | 1 | 2019 |
| Karachi Kings | 1 | 2020 |
| Multan Sultans | 1 | 2021 |
Why it mattered
- Zalmi's second title — first since 2017, making them only the third multi-title franchise after Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars.
- Babar Azam's first major trophy as captain — nine years of waiting ended in Lahore.
- Kingsmen's fairy-tale fell short — the debut franchise lost its first four matches, then won seven of eight to reach the final.
PSL 2026 at a glance
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Edition | PSL 11 (HBL PSL 2026) |
| Dates | March 26 – May 3, 2026 |
| Teams | 8 (two new: Hyderabad Kingsmen, Rawalpindi Pindiz) |
| Matches | 44 |
| Final venue | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore |
| New this season | Player auction replaced the draft |
Zalmi's season was Babar's season — 588 runs and the trophy. Say what you want about the strike-rate debates; when the final needed a grown-up innings, he played one.
The Kingsmen story is the one I'll remember longest, though. An expansion team losing its first four and making the final — that's the stuff that grows a league. Next question: who takes the most wickets ever?
