Aaron Hardie produced a brilliant all-round performance as Peshawar Zalmi held their nerve to beat Hyderabad Kingsmen by five wickets in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) final on Sunday.
Hardie’s four-wicket haul with the ball and a sparkling half-century (56 not out off 39 balls) with the bat earned a memorable victory for Peshawar.
Chasing a modest 130 for victory in the final at Lahore, Peshawar reached home with 28 balls to spare.
The Australian all-rounder found good support from Abdul Samad (48 off 34 balls) after Peshawar lost four wickets for just 40 runs in their reply to Hyderabad’s 129 all out.
Skipper Babar Azam, top-scorer of the season, was out for a duck, failing to add to his tally of 588 runs.
Defending a small total, pace bowlers Mohammad Ali (4-0-38-3) and Hunain Shah (4-0-29-1) gave Hyderabad hope with their early strikes, but Hardie refused to give up.
The 27-year-old added a match-turning 85-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Samad to help Zalmi win their second PSL title.
Earlier, Hardie (4-0-27-4) delivered an outstanding spell of pace bowling as Peshawar restricted Hyderabad to a modest score.
“I couldn’t have had a better start to my PSL journey. I’m super grateful to be part of Zalmi and to get to know everyone. We’ve had great fun and, obviously, a really successful season,” Hardie said.
The comprehensive final victory capped a dominant campaign for Peshawar, who topped the league stage with 17 points from 10 matches, including eight wins.
Peshawar outplayed Islamabad United in the qualifier 1 to storm into the final before clinching the title on Sunday.
“Look, from the start, we sat down and decided how we wanted to play and approach the tournament. I have to give a lot of credit to the players for the way they’ve approached it. We’ve only lost one game and have been consistent the whole way through,” Peshawar Zalmi coach Ottis Gibson said.
Peshawar’s victory ended Hyderabad’s hopes of completing a fairytale debut season.
The debutants lost their first three games before staging a stunning comeback, winning seven of their next eight matches to reach the final.
They came into the final with high hopes, but the Hardie-inspired Peshawar bowling attack never gave them a chance to post a big total, as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
Saim Ayub scored a definite 54 off 50 balls, but the left-hander found no support from the other end.
“A few things didn’t go our way. As a batting group, we probably left a few runs out there,” said Hyderabad captain Marnus Labuschagne.
“There just weren’t enough runs on the board. Tonight hurts, obviously, but when you reflect, it’s been an amazing season and a great tournament for us.”
Source: Khaleej Times