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Peshawar Zalmi 171 for 5 (19.2 overs) beat Hyderabad Kingsmen 167 for 8 by five wickets
Venue: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore – Sunday night
Peshawar Zalmi finally have their second Pakistan Super League title, and Babar Azam finally has a trophy as captain. A nervy five-wicket win over Hyderabad Kingsmen in front of a loud – sometimes restless – Lahore crowd ended a run of near-misses for both the franchise and its most high-profile player.
“I have a firm belief that you get what is destined for you,” Babar said moments after the presentation, the PSL’s silver-and-gold “infinity” trophy resting on the table next to him. “It can take some time or come to you quickly, but one should remain grateful to the almighty.”
A season flipped on its head
Only 12 months ago Zalmi had finished fifth, the first time in the league’s short history they had failed to reach the knockout rounds. Scrutiny of Babar’s captaincy – tactical fields, bowling changes, even the tempo of his own batting – felt endless. The same conversations cropped up in Pakistan colours. He walked into PSL 2026 with no silverware as skipper despite four full seasons in charge of one team or another.
This campaign looked different from the outset. Zalmi, with a new data-leaning back-room staff and a bit more pace in the middle order, won eight of ten group matches, edged out Islamabad in the qualifier, and held their nerve in Sunday’s final. Babar the leader now has something tangible to show for all the talk.
Record-equalling run glut
The captain’s up-turn wasn’t only in the ring. He equalled the record for most runs in a single PSL season – 588 of them at 145.90 – matching Fakhar Zaman’s 2022 mark but needing one innings fewer. Two hundreds arrived, the first a 52-ball effort against Quetta Gladiators that quietened most of the noise about strike-rate immediately.
“My focus is on all three formats. I feel a batter should play all cricket and should not limit himself to white-ball cricket. Red-ball cricket teaches you the art of batting long and instils patience in you. It helps you to understand how you can score big runs,” he explained when asked about balancing T20 aggression with the longer game.
The statement is typical Babar: measured, a shade didactic, certainly not flamboyant. Yet it sits beside numbers few short-format specialists manage.
What changed with the bat?
He was asked that too. Last season brought just 288 PSL runs; at the recent T20 World Cup, only 91 across six knocks. The question hung: was he slipping out of the top bracket?
“I was not up to my own expectations, but it is normal for a batter to struggle with his execution. You have to take a few steps back and assess where you are going wrong and correct it. You need support in such times, and my family and close friends kept me motivated. I discussed the areas of improvement with the coaches who are close to me and worked on them.”
Coaches close to him – that means Mohammad Yousuf, a long-time batting mentor, and Zalmi assistant Hashim Amla. Conversations, we’re told, centred on two pretty simple tweaks: getting a touch lower at the crease early in the innings and trusting his hands – not the front pad – against pace. In T20 it sometimes is that basic.
The final in brief
Hyderabad, new kids in the league but already popular thanks to a noisy travelling fan-base, posted 167 for 8. Mohammad Haris nipped out both openers before Rovman Powell’s 34-ball 55 gave the total some heft. Still, the Kingsmen probably finished 10-15 short.
Zalmi’s chase never quite coasted yet never truly panicked either. Saim Ayub carved 41, Babar compiled a workmanlike 45, and Rovman’s opposite number, Paul Walter, finished it with a straight six that landed just shy of the old media centre. Hardly a classic, but good enough for a packed ground hunting a story.
The view from inside the tent
Fast-bowling coach Wahab Riaz wasn’t keen on the redemption narrative. “People forget we were one bad week away from another play-off last season,” he said, shrugging. “This year we executed. That’s really all that happened.”
Former Pakistan opener Ramiz Raja, working the TV gantry, offered a little extra context: “Any time a big player, especially a batting cornerstone, lifts a domestic title, the noise cools. It buys him six, eight, maybe 12 months of peace.”
‘Life is like a rollercoaster’
Asked finally whether he enjoys the constant scrutiny, Babar smiled – half weary, half accepting. “Life is like a rollercoaster, and things never stay the same. You learn from your good and bad experiences. That is how life goes.”
Pakistan now turn to a two-Test trip to Sri Lanka in late June. Babar will again be captain, this time of course in white clothing with a red ball. The PSL numbers suggest rhythm restored; a different examination waits.
For now, though, the trophy sits in the Zalmi cabinet, and the captain’s tag of “never-won-anything” is gone. Not a bad way to finish a Sunday night in Lahore.
