LAHORE: Lahore Qalandars’ batters pulled their side from the brink of elimination to keep their chances of retaining the Pakistan Super League title alive. Fakhar Zaman led the 200-run chase against table-toppers Peshawar Zalmi with an unbeaten 58 as Qalandars achieved victory for the loss of four wickets with three balls to spare.

Qalandars’ victory meant Karachi Kings — who had earlier routed Quetta Gladiators by nine wickets — were eliminated on net run-rate after both sides finished level on five wins. For Qalandars, it was also sweet revenge against Kings, who had won both their league matches against them this season. However, the three-time defending champions had the last laugh, as their victory against Zalmi handed their traditional rivals an early exit.

Qalandars will now wait until Sunday afternoon to formally learn of their passage to the 29 April Eliminator One in Lahore, when Hyderabad Kingsmen take on bottom-placed Rawalpindiz. Kingsmen will need to beat Rawalpindiz convincingly to improve their net run-rate of -1.037 above Qalandars’ -0.482 to reach the last four in their debut season.

In the final qualifying match on Sunday evening, Multan Sultans take on Islamabad United with the winner meeting Peshawar Zalmi in the 29 April Qualifier in Karachi. The losing side will feature in Eliminator One in Lahore on 29 April.

After Qalandars’ bowlers conceded 121 runs in the last 10 overs — including 70 in the final five — as Zalmi posted 199 for four after being put in to bat, Fakhar Zaman anchored his side to a famous victory. Fakhar finished unbeaten on 58 off 47 balls with four fours and two sixes — his fourth consecutive score of over 50 — having scored 347 runs in his last six innings since returning from a two-match suspension.

Fakhar added 21 for the first wicket with Mohammad Naeem (10), 44 off 20 balls for the second with Abdullah Shafique (25) and 53 off 38 balls for the third with Charith Asalanka (33).

It was Fakhar’s partnerships with Sikandar Raza and Daniel Sams, however, that sealed the match. Fakhar put on 42 off 19 balls for the fourth wicket with Sikandar Raza, who contributed 29 off 11 balls with two fours and three sixes, before an unbroken 40 off 22 balls for the fifth wicket saw Qalandars home — with Sams dominating, scoring 35 off 15 balls with five fours and a six.

For Zalmi, teenage Ali Raza had a forgettable outing after his hat-trick in the previous match, conceding 48 from three overs. Michael Bracewell went for 22 from two overs, while Mohammad Basit conceded 36 from 3.3 overs.

Earlier, Bracewell scored 83 off 45 balls with eight fours and six sixes to help Zalmi post 199 for four. He put on 64 for the fourth wicket off 27 balls with Iftikhar Ahmed (27 not out, 14b, 5×4) and had earlier featured in a 94-run third-wicket stand off 64 balls with Babar Azam, who scored 59 off 45 balls with five fours and a six.

Babar has now accumulated 485 runs from nine matches and is just 15 runs behind team-mate Kusal Mendis, who became the first batter this season to reach 500 runs.

For Lahore Qalandars, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf took two wickets each but conceded 82 runs between them from eight overs.

In the other match of bumper Saturday, captain David Warner scored an unbeaten 89 and Reeza Hendricks 87 not out as the pair put on an unbroken 141 for the second wicket off 79 balls to help Karachi Kings achieve the 196-run target and beat Quetta Gladiators by nine wickets with nine balls to spare.

Quetta Gladiators produced one of their best batting performances of PSL 2026 but it was not enough. After losing both openers in the first over, Gladiators posted 195 for six on the back of a 148-run third-wicket stand off 81 balls between Rilee Rossouw and captain Saud Shakeel.

Rossouw scored 90 off 54 balls with eight fours and six sixes, while Saud’s 34-ball 57 included nine fours. Dinesh Chandimal contributed 30 not out off 17 balls.

In reply, Warner and Hendricks took Gladiators’ bowlers to the cleaners, hitting 18 fours and eight sixes between them. Warner’s 48-ball 89 not out included 10 fours and four sixes, while Hendricks struck eight fours and four sixes in his 48-ball 87 not out. Jason Roy contributed 20 off 15 balls.

Scores in brief:

Match 37 – Karachi Kings beat Quetta Gladiators by nine wickets, Lahore

QUETTA GLADIATORS 195-6, 20 overs (Rilee Rossouw 90, Saud Shakeel 57, Dinesh Chandimal 30 not out; Abbas Afridi 2-22, Rizwanullah 2-28, Hasan Ali 2-41)

KARACHI KINGS 199-1, 18.3 overs (David Warner 89 not out, Reeza Hendricks 87 not out, Jason Roy 20)

PLAYER OF THE MATCH – David Warner (Karachi Kings)

Match 38 – Lahore Qalandars beat Peshawar Zalmi by six wickets, Lahore

PESHAWAR ZALMI 199-4, 20 overs (Michael Bracewell 83, Babar Azam 59, Iftikhar Ahmed 27 not out, James Vince 10; Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-36, Haris Rauf 2-46,

LAHORE QALANDARS 200-4, 19.3 overs (Fakhar Zaman 58 not out, Daniel Sams 35 not out, Charith Asalanka 33, Sikandar Raza 29, Abdullah Shafique 25, Mohammad Naseem 10)

PLAYER OF THE MATCH – Fakhar Zaman (Lahore Qalandars)

SUNDAY’S FIXTURES: Hyderabad Kingsmen v Rawalpindiz, Karachi; Islamabad United v Multan Sultans, Lahore.