PSL 2026 Qualifier: Babar Azam’s storm blows Islamabad United, Peshawar Zalmi’s explosive victory

Peshawar Zalmi Beat Islamabad United: Peshawar Zalmi gave a tremendous performance by defeating Islamabad United by 70 runs in the PSL 2026 qualifiers, in which Babar Azam’s brilliant century played an important role. His calm but aggressive innings laid the foundation for Zalmi’s big score and victory.

Peshawar’s explosive start

Zalmi had a very fast start in the powerplay, the credit for which goes to Mohammad Hasil, who batted aggressively from the beginning. The opening pair added 68 runs in the first 6 overs without losing any wicket, which immediately put pressure on the bowling of Islamabad team and opened the way for a big score.

Also read- IPL 2026: Sanjay Manjrekar again gave ‘provocative’ statement to Virat Kohli’s fans, targeted on this issue

Babar Azam’s magic

As the innings progressed, Babar Azam completely took command and carried his innings forward in an excellent manner. He got strong support from Kusal Mendis, and together they maintained a good run rate while continuously taking the scoreboard forward. Babar increased his pace at the right time, which ensured that Zalmi was heading towards a huge score.

glorious century

Peshawar team crossed the 100-run mark within 11 overs and increased its run pace in the death overs. Thanks to their constant hunger to score runs, they managed to post a mammoth score of 221/7 in 20 overs, with Babar leading the team with his brilliant century (103 runs).

Also read- The schedule of this important tournament suddenly came between IPL 2026, star cricketers will take part.

Islamabad also showed strength

In reply, Islamabad United started their run chase in a positive manner. Devon Conway and Samir Minhas contributed to a fast start, taking the team to 64 runs during the powerplay. However, this huge target of runs soon started burdening the team, as the required run rate was continuously increasing.

Also read- Yuzvendra Chahal made a strange demand from Preity Zinta, the owner of PBKS promised, but..

Zalmi’s bowling attack

Then wickets started falling at regular intervals, and Islamabad had to struggle a lot to build any solid partnership. Despite crossing the 150-run mark, he failed to maintain his rhythm against Zalmi’s disciplined bowling.

IU team disintegrated

Ultimately, Islamabad United was all out for 151 runs in 18.4 overs, giving Peshawar Zalmi a huge win by 70 runs and firmly securing their place in the next stage of the tournament.

The post PSL 2026 Qualifier: Islamabad United flies in the storm of Babar Azam, Peshawar Zalmi’s explosive win appeared first on obnews.