Babar Azam Mohsin Naqvi for PSL. Image Credits: AFP/X
The Pakistan Super League (PSL 2026) final saw Peshawar Zalmi defeating the Hyderabad Kingsmen on May 3, 2026. The summit clash of the PSL 2026 was played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The Babar Azam-led Zalmi team dominated the PSL tournament and continued it all the way.
The Peshawar Zalmi team placed first in the league stage's points table. At a net run rate of +2.364, they won eight games out of ten meetings, including many big-margin victories.
On the other hand, the Hyderabad Kingsmen had started poorly, losing their first four games, but then won five in a row to qualify for the playoffs. They somehow managed to defeat Islamabad United in the Eliminator 2 to qualify for the finals, to face off against Peshawar Zalmi.
Peshawar Zalmi wins the PSL 2026 in a one-sided contest
Peshawar Zalmi captain Babar Azam won the toss and chose to bowl first on a spicy pitch in Lahore. Marnus Labuschagne made 20 and Saim Ayub made 54 runs, but the rest of the batting lineup failed miserably for the Kingsmen. The Hyderabad team could only manage 129 in 18 overs.
For the Zalmi team, Aaron Hardie starred with 4/27, while Nahid Rana took 2/22 runs.
In response, Babar Azam fell for a golden duck, while Mohammad Haris and Kusal Mendis fell for single-digit scores. It was only because of Aaron Hardie, who made 56* with 9 fours and Abdul Samad, who made 48 with 3 fours and 4 sixes, that Zalmi managed to chase the total down with 5 wickets in hand and in 15.2 overs.
PSL 2026 final sees a brutal fan fight in the stands
Even though the Babar Azam-led team was successful, there were a few instances that detracted from the real cricket taking place at Lahore's famous Gaddafi Stadium.
In one of these instances, the ardent supporters who had been barred from the league stage came to the forefront as they participated in what could be called WWE's Royal Rumble. It went from bad to worse as it became aggressive and physical, with a few more fans joining in the incident.
Many fans are seen assaulting one another in a video that has gone viral on social media, yet few are intervening to break up the altercation.
Sufiyan Muqeem wins Player of the Tournament; Babar Azam wins best batter of PSL 2026
Sufiyan Muqeem, the Peshawar Zalmi spinner, attained a huge milestone as he was named the Player of the Tournament in PSL 2026, playing only his fourth season of the Pakistan Super League. The 23-year-old spinner picked up 22 wickets in the competition in just 11 innings at an exceptional bowling average of 14.40.
He also won the Bowler of the Tournament award for getting the most scalps in the PSL. On the other hand, Zalmi captain Babar Azam won the Batter of the Tournament. Babar made 588 runs in 11 matches in PSL 2026, with 3 fifties and 2 hundreds. He averaged 74.50 and had a strike rate of 145.90.
