Hyderabad Kingsmen | Pakistan

The final of 11th HBL Pakistan Super League edition turned out to be a one-man show as Aaron Hardie’s spectacular all-round performance led Peshawar Zalmi to their second title win on Sunday in Lahore. They defeated Hyderabad Kingsmen by five wickets after opting to bowl first against the debutants at the Gaddafi Stadium. Peshawar Zalmi achieved the 130-run target in the 16th over of the second innings, becoming the HBL PSL champions for a second time. The first claimed the trophy with a win against the Quetta Gladiators in 2017. They have now joined Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars as the winners who have lifted the PSL trophy more than once. Zalmi’s second win was led by a stunning performance by Hardie, who took four wickets before scoring an unbeaten 56 runs off 39 deliveries. He smashed a total of nine boundaries and was named the player of the match. They initially quickly lost four wickets after scoring just 40 runs by the end of five overs. In a disappointing start, opener Muhammad Haris and Kusa...

LAHORE: Who in this world would have thought a couple of weeks ago that debutants Hyderabad Kingsmen, having lost four of their first five initial-stage matches of the HBL Pakistan Super League, will make it to the decider as Islamabad United blinked in the final over of the action-packed encounter. The ultra-passionate fans present here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday night found themselves extremely lucky. Why not? They witnessed an absolute nail-biting Eliminator-2. Marnus Labuschagne’s energised sprint to the field immediately after the two-run triumph explicitly showed that Peshawar Zalmi will face a rejuvenated Kingsmen brigade in the all-important final on Sunday. Fielding is not generally considered a forte in this part of the world. However, the way Kingsmen’s Hassan Khan in an extraordinary leap in the air at mid-wicket boundary prevented a six off Faheem Ashraf’s bat in the 17th over was as stunning as anything. United went through ebb and flow in their chase of a tough 187 and fell short in the v...