Allround Hardie helps Peshawar Zalmi clinch PSL title

Aaron Hardie's stunning allround display headlined Peshawar Zalmi's second PSL triumph as they beat Hyderabad Kingsmen comfortably in the final on Sunday (May 3) by five wickets in Lahore. The Australian allrounder became the first player in the tournament's history to take four wickets and score a half-century in a final as Zalmi got home easily in the end with 28 balls to spare.

Zalmi opted to bowl first on the big night but saw Maaz Sadaqat get off the mark with a six off his very first delivery, Marnus Labuschagne closed out that over with a boundary to give Kingsmen a resounding start. But that was cut short very quickly when Sadaqat was removed in the next over. Saim Ayub then went on a boundary spree to ensure momentum didn't dip. Labuschagne backed him up with a four and a six off successive deliveries in Hardie's first over as Kingsmen brought up their fifty in just 4.3 overs. But a thick outside edge from Labuschagne saw Hardie extract his revenge in the same over. The Powerplay still belonged to the batting side as Ayub continued to make merry.

At 69/2 after the first six overs, Kingsmen would have expected themselves to carry forward that momentum and post a significant total on the board. However, the game turned around dramatically from there. Four wickets fell in just nine balls, including two needless runouts. Ayub watched a procession at the other end as 69/2 became 73/6 in no time. A recovery was almost impossible from that point as even Ayub curbed his instincts in order to bat deep. The youngster eventually brought up his first fifty of the season on the big night before becoming Hardie's third victim. The Australian closed out the innings with one more wicket as Kingsmen got bowled out for just 129 with two overs to spare.

Mohammad Ali did cause a flutter when he had Mohammad Haris dismissed third ball, followed by Babar Azam's wicket for a golden duck. Hardie then walked out to the middle and counter-punched with three fours in the second over. Kusal Mendis started off in fine fashion too but his innings was nipped in the bud by Hunain Shah before Akif Javed gave Kingsmen more reasons to cheer with the big wicket of Michael Bracewell. At 39/4, Zalmi's hopes now started to quiver as they needed a calm head out in the middle.

Hardie rounded off the Powerplay with three more boundaries and Abdul Samad grew in confidence when he hit sixes in successive overs. By the halfway point, Zalmi had knocked off 79 runs and that meant Kingsmen had to strike again immediately to shift the pressure back. However, both Hardie and Samad were now batting with great confidence, finding the boundary at will. Hardie brought up a fine fifty off just 35 balls to pretty much put the game beyond Kingsmen's reach. While the bowling side did finally strike, getting rid of Samad, the damage had already been done as the batter had hammered a four and a six just before getting dismissed. Zalmi then needed just three more deliveries after that to complete the formalities and lift the title for the second time.