Peshawar Zalmi vs Quetta Gladiators, 29th Match, Pakistan Super League 2026 - CommentaryPSZ vs QTG, 29th Match, Pakistan Super League 2026 - Commentary

That is a wrap from this game. There’s a break tomorrow, followed by three consecutive days of double-headers. Do make sure to join us for all the action. Cheers!!

Babar Azam | Peshawar Zalmi skipper and Player of the Match: (Translated from Urdu) Scoring a hundred always feels special, no matter how many you’ve made before, and there’s a different kind of satisfaction in reaching that milestone again; when I took that run off the last ball, I had a slight doubt because after playing the shot I felt I might be late, but then when I completed it and realized I had gotten there, it brought out a completely different emotion, and I’m grateful to Almighty for helping me achieve it. [On structuring the innings] You always plan according to the match situation and conditions - how to assess them, what total is possible - and while Kusal Mendis was going well, my effort was to give him as much strike as possible since his shots were coming off nicely, and we aimed to keep the run rate around 10 to 15; once he got out, I stepped up and tried to carry that momentum forward. [On the team’s target] During the water break, the coaches also felt a 200-plus total was on the cards, and I believed it would happen if a set batter stayed till the end, which is what I tried to do, and later the small partnerships also helped push the total further. [On the bowling unit and youngsters] A lot of credit goes to the young players, especially the fast bowlers, who stepped up even after changes in the lineup, and even those who are not playing are putting in the hard work; we had an eight-day break where we focused a lot on improving ourselves, and the players are now executing those plans match by match. [On team strategy going forward] We’ve already qualified and now secured a top-two position, so we will discuss as a team and see in Lahore what the best possible combination is and whether we can give opportunities to players on the bench going ahead.

Saud Shakeel | Quetta Gladiators skipper: (Translated from Urdu) I don’t think batting first was really an option; even if Babar had won the toss, they likely would have chosen to bowl first as well, but regardless of that, you still have to execute your plans, and we couldn’t play our best cricket across all three departments, which is why we ended up with this result. [Reflecting on overall team performance] It happens in tournaments like this that sometimes you have an off game, but if you’re not consistent, you fall behind quickly, and as players and as a team, we are always trying to keep our results consistent, although today credit goes to Babar and also to Kusal Mendis for the way he batted, they deserved to win. [On the current points table situation] The good thing is that four teams are on six points, so there’s still an opportunity, but from here on there’s very little margin for error, and for us it’s simple - we need to win both our remaining matches and hope for some favorable results elsewhere, and when that situation comes, we tend to play even better.

22:22 Local, 17:22 GMT, 22:52 IST: An absolute thrashing, this. Asked to bat first, Zalmi piled on a massive 255/3, powered by the tournament’s top two run-getters, Kusal Mendis and Babar Azam. It was a special night for Babar as well, bringing up his third PSL hundred off the final ball of the innings. For Quetta to stand any chance, they needed a blazing start in the powerplay, but that never materialized. Losing three wickets inside the first six overs, they were always on the back foot, and the collapse only deepened from there. With this emphatic win, Peshawar Zalmi have now guaranteed themselves a top-two finish. Stick around for the post-match reactions…

Ali Raza to Usman Tariq, THATS OUT!! Caught!!