Babar Azam captained Peshawar Zalmi to a Pakistan Super League crown, beating Hyderabad Kingsmen by five wickets in the final at Gaddafi Stadium. The title win was extra special for Azam, as it became his first T20 trophy as a skipper and set off an outpouring of joy inside the ground—until a playful celebration moment briefly took over the spotlight.
Key takeaways
- Peshawar Zalmi won the PSL final at Gaddafi Stadium, defeating Hyderabad Kingsmen by five wickets.
- The triumph was Babar Azam’s first T20 title as captain.
- Aaron Hardie delivered a match-defining all-round show: 4/27 with the ball and an unbeaten 56 in the chase.
- Zalmi restricted Hyderabad Kingsmen to 129 in 18 overs before reaching the target in 15.2 overs.
- Despite a golden duck in the final, Babar finished the tournament as the leading run-getter with 588 runs.
Celebrations turn viral after trophy presentation
In the post-match festivities, Babar and teammate Iftikhar Ahmed tried to recreate Rohit Sharma’s widely recognised walk from India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 celebration. The attempt, however, did not quite land as intended, and what began as a quirky recreation quickly became a meme-worthy moment for supporters.
As Babar made his way to collect the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, several fans noticed the similarity to Rohit’s celebratory stride. Iftikhar and others joined in as well, but the imitation ultimately fell flat in an amusing way. Clips of the episode soon spread across social media, triggering a wave of reactions from viewers.
Zalmi’s title run: Hardie fires, Babar caps off a big tournament
This victory gave Peshawar Zalmi their second PSL championship, and the first since 2017. While Babar had been part of title-winning PSL squads earlier, it was his first occasion lifting the trophy as captain.
In the final, Aaron Hardie proved to be the standout performer. With the ball, he struck with precision and control, taking four wickets for 27 runs to help dismiss Hyderabad Kingsmen for 129 in 18 overs. Then, after the chase began, Hardie completed the story with the bat, remaining unbeaten on 56 as Zalmi reached the target in just 15.2 overs.
Babar’s campaign, though, carried through even with a rare slip-up in the summit clash. He was dismissed for a golden duck in the final, but still ended the tournament on top of the run-scoring charts. Across 11 matches, he scored 588 runs at an average of 73.50, including three half-centuries and two hundreds, and he maintained a strike rate of 145.90.
