LONDON: Peshawar Zalmi flew out of the blocks in 2026, successfully chasing 215 to beat Rawalpindiz in their opening match, and never looked back as they claimed their first PSL title since 2017 with a five-wicket victory over Hyderabad Kingsmen in the final at Lahore on Sunday.

That final victory was Zalmi’s 70th in PSL history — more than any other team — and they have now featured in five finals, also the most. It came in front of 32,461 spectators, a far cry from the empty stands in which the opening matches of the competition were played.

That final crowd became not only the largest ever to watch a PSL match but also the biggest recorded attendance for any cricket in Pakistan, surpassing the 32,437 who watched Pakistan face South Africa in a T20 International at Lahore last year.

Aaron Hardie was the star of the show, becoming the first player in any franchise T20 final to score a half-century and take at least four wickets. Furthermore, this year’s triumph marked Babar Azam’s first T20 title as captain — achieved in the city where he grew up playing cricket, completing a journey from ball-boy to winning skipper.

The win capped a remarkable tournament for Babar, whose 588 runs matched Fakhar Zaman’s record from 2022. He had the chance to set a new mark in the final but fell for a first-ball duck to Mohammad Ali. With centuries against Quetta Gladiators and Islamabad United, Babar became only the second player to score two centuries in the same PSL edition, after Usman Khan of Hyderabad Kingsmen two years ago.

Another cornerstone of Zalmi’s success was Kusal Mendis, who finished with 550 runs — placing him joint fifth on the all-time table for runs in a single PSL edition:

Name	Year	Inns	Runs	Avg	SR	100	50
Babar Azam	2026	11	588	73.50	145.90	2	3
Fakhar Zaman	2022	13	588	45.23	152.72	1	7
Babar Azam	2024	11	569	56.90	142.60	1	5
Babar Azam	2021	11	554	69.25	132.53	0	7
Mohammad Rizwan	2023	12	550	55.00	142.85	1	4
Kusal Mendis	2026	11	550	55.00	168.19	1	4

The second-wicket partnership of 191 between Babar and Mendis against Karachi Kings in Karachi on 9 April was a record for any wicket in the competition’s history, surpassing the 176 added for the first wicket by Sharjeel Khan and Babar for the Kings against Islamabad United in Karachi in 2021.

For the second successive year — and the third occasion in the last four editions — runs were scored at more than nine per over, with 27.10 runs per wicket the second highest in PSL history, demonstrating the upward trend in the competition over time:

Years	RPW	RPO
2016-2019	23.56	7.82
2020-2022	26.70	8.64
2023-2026	26.39	9.05

There was very much a “win the toss and bowl first” theme to PSL 2026 — evidenced again in the final, in which Babar Azam won the toss and did not hesitate in electing to field first. Only 11 times did a toss-winning captain choose to bat, with 32 electing to bowl. Of the 43 completed matches, 15 were won by the team batting first and 28 by the chasing side.

The closest match in terms of runs came on 1 May when Hyderabad Kingsmen defeated Islamabad United by just two runs — one of only two matches decided by fewer than 10 runs. In terms of last-ball finishes, none was tighter than 8 April, when Aamer Jamal squeezed the winning single off Hunain Shah from the final delivery to clinch a four-wicket victory for Peshawar Zalmi.

There was assistance for both seamers and spinners in PSL 2026, with pace bowlers finishing with the better overall average while spinners conceded three-quarters of a run fewer per over:

Bowling	Balls	Runs	Wks	Ave	Econ
Pace	5259	7836	300	26.12	8.94
Spin	4428	6048	204	29.64	8.19

It was a spinner who finished as the leading wicket-taker. Peshawar Zalmi’s Sufyan Moqim ended with 22 wickets from 11 matches at an average of 14.40 to become the first specialist spinner to earn the Player of the Tournament award.

The achievement is even more impressive given that Sufyan began the competition with figures of 0-28 against Rawalpindiz before taking at least three wickets in each of his next five matches — the first bowler in the tournament’s history to achieve that feat. His performances earned him a call-up to represent Derbyshire in this summer’s T20 Blast in England, a county coached by former Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur.

There was a notable influx of overseas stars this year — Australians in particular — but the top run-scorers were all local players, with Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan and Sahibzada Farhan rounding off the top five behind Babar and Mendis.

Sixth on the run-scoring charts was arguably the biggest overseas signing of the season — Steve Smith — who recovered from an inconsistent start to make a significant impact in the second half of the competition, highlighted by an innings of 106 off just 50 deliveries for Multan Sultans against Hyderabad Kingsmen in Karachi.

Smith’s fellow Australian Marnus Labuschagne totalled 344 runs for Kingsmen, making several useful contributions without passing 61. Rilee Rossouw of Quetta Gladiators found his best form late in the season, striking 62 and 90 in his final two innings, and became the first overseas batter to pass 2,500 PSL runs.

The top six positions in the bowling charts were also all occupied by Pakistani bowlers, with Mohammad Ali of Hyderabad Kingsmen finishing as the leading pace bowler with 20 wickets. The leading overseas bowler was Peter Siddle, who — despite making his PSL debut at the age of 41 — took 13 wickets for Multan Sultans, finishing one ahead of Islamabad United’s Richard Gleeson.

The tournament’s only hat-trick was taken by 18-year-old Ali Raza for Peshawar Zalmi against Karachi Kings at Lahore on 22 April. He dismissed Khushdil Shah hit wicket before clean bowling Shahid Aziz and Hasan Ali with the final three deliveries of the Kings’ innings to help set up a seven-wicket victory.

Among the young stars, none shone more brightly than Islamabad United’s Sameer Minhas, who struck 349 runs at a strike rate of 155.80 with three half-centuries. Maaz Sadaqat of Kingsmen scored 260 runs at an eye-catching strike rate of 178.08, clearing the boundary 16 times. Another youngster to register three half-centuries was 21-year-old Shamyl Hussain of Quetta Gladiators, who ended with 215 runs from nine matches.

Beyond Ali Raza — who finished with 10 wickets overall — Hunain Shah starred with the ball, taking 17 wickets at 18.41 each for Kingsmen at just 22 years of age. His younger brother Ubaid Shah, two years his junior, took seven wickets for Lahore Qalandars. Another young seamer who impressed was 20-year-old Mohammad Ismail, who claimed 10 wickets for Multan Sultans.

Despite some marquee names failing to deliver, the biggest PSL tournament in terms of matches played ended with worthy champions in front of a record crowd. With the promise of bigger and better to come next year — when the competition will hopefully return to its traditional format of showcasing the world’s finest cricketers across more venues throughout the country — PSL 2026 has set a benchmark that future editions will strive to match.