PZ vs QG, PSL 2026: Babar Azam takes Peshawar to easy victory

Babar Azam's Peshwar have completed a convincing 8-wicket win here. He ends up with 71 from 51 here, in what was his 100th T20 fifty. Well done Peshawar.

Just about in every match, Peshawar have shown how good they are, in batting and bowling. They are moments away from another win, which would be their 6th.

Usman Tariq comes on for the last over and he has been good, but not getting any wicket doesn't mean much for his team.

A Joseph comes into the attack and has a wicket on the very first ball. Kusal Medis is caught out by Usman Tariq.

Abrar finishes his decent spell but then that was of no real use; Babar meanwhile scored his 100th T20 fifty. 

MOST FIFTIES IN T20 HISTORY

116 - David Warner (435)
106 - Virat Kohli (400)
100- Jos Buttler (468)
100- Babar Azam (340)

Skipper Babar continues with his excellent form this season, and gets to his second fifty now. The milestone has come in only 37 deliveries.

PSL viewrship has come down

Pakistan Super League viewership drops nearly 45% in 2026 season compared to last year despite hitting 1.1 billion views milestone.

What do you think..what's the reason behind this?

— Arslan Jutt (@ArslanJutt43) April 15, 2026

Babar is nearing his 50 and Peshawar are in a hurry to finish this match. They are showing why they are the best this year. Another over comes to an end.

When all the other bowlers failed, Saud Shakeel has brought a breakthrough for Quetta. He gets rid of Haris, after a partnership of 75.

Despite getting one six in the innings so far, Peshawar are looking to win easy. Wickets are not coming Quetta's way, and might remain this way.

It has been a breezy start by Psehawar. At the end of the powerplay, they manage to reach 60. Alzarri Joseph completes his first over.

Abrar completes yet another wicket and Quetta is in dire need of wickets. 50 up fot Peshwar. Babar Azam is going smoothly.

Abrar Ahmed shows why he is one of the best in the format. Against the run of play, he comes up with a four-run over.

Babar Azam and Mohammad Haris have struck 5 fours in the first 2 overs. In fact, Babar has the higher strike rate, 260, at the moment.

The Karachi Kings have signed Jason Roy as the replacement of Muhammad Waseem for the remainder of PSL 2026.

🚨 JASON ROY IN PSL 2026 🚨

- Karachi Kings have signed Jason Roy for PSL 2026. Another brilliant addition to the PSL. 🔥pic.twitter.com/f20pB7tUwm

— Abdullah. (@Abdullahh_56) April 15, 2026

Quetta Gladiators bowling coach Sohail Tanveer admits that they are about 20-25 short. It'll be fascinating to see if they can restrict Peshawar Zalmi. 

"Discipline (will be key). Pitch is slow and low. If we hit the right areas, we still have a chance. We were looking at 165-170, it's a bit below par. We have two brilliant spinners," Tanveer said.

Ali Raza comes on for the last over and 150 has been breached finally. The innings comes to an end. Sufiyan Muqeem and Basit end with three wickets each in what has been a stunning bowling performance. All out on the last ball and Quetta are bundled out for 154. There was a run out chance, and a certain comedy of errors. What do you say about PAK fielding.

Ali Raza has a wicket and he gets rid of Jahandad Khan. This has been an excellent bowling performance by Peshawar. 150 possible?

Khawaja Nafay has gotten a six and couple of boundaries, and he should stay till the very end. 160 looks possible. Muqeem fnishes with 3 wickets.

A rather slow innings by Quetta, as they get to their 100 in only 14th over. 160 is what they should be looking at realistically. Hardie completes his first over.

Shamyl has lost his wicket, and his struggles come to an end. Sufiyan Muqeem is the bowler and Aaron Hardie is the one who takes the catch.

The run rate has dropped significantly. 150 looks out of reach for now and Hasan Nawaz and Shamyl need to up the ante.

Best bowler of the tournament Sufiyan Muqeem comes into the attack finally. Rossouw is the dangerman here and shouid be removed soon. And he picks up a wicket first over. Rilee is out bowled.

The PP comes to an end and it seems, Peshawar would be the happier side. Both the openers have fallen and the others have the task of taking the score to 180.

Ifti comes on for his third over and the idea should be to strangle Saud Shakeel. he still hasn't got going till now. And he does. He removes Shakeel. Oh no, Shakeel got under pressure and is run out.

Bracewell comes into the attack already and the idea if to go for the kill and look for more wickets. But it turns out to be an expensive over.

What should be safe score on this wicket? 170-180 looks like a decent score, but Quetta will have to really bat out of their skins to get there. meanwhile, Ifti comes up with a miserly over.

Mohammad Basit starts the second over and Rilee will have to do bulk of the scoring. He needs to stay on until the 10th over.

Iftikhar Ahmed starts the proceedings for Peshawar. He has been excellent in the tournament and he picks up a wicket in the first over here. He gets rid of Ahsan Ali.

Peshawar has a well-rounded bowling attack and bowling first on this Karachi wicket hands them some advantage for sure. 150 is what they would want Quetta to be restricted at.

Quetta Gladiators (Playing XI): Shamyl Hussain, Saud Shakeel(c), Rilee Rossouw, Hasan Nawaz, Khawaja Nafay(w), Tom Curran, Jahandad Khan, Ahsan Ali, Alzarri Joseph, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq

Peshwar Zalmi have won the toss and opted to bowl first. Pressure on Saud Shakeel-led team.

Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Haris, Kusal Mendis (wk), Michael Bracewell, Iftikhar Ahmed, Aamer Jamal, Abdul Samad, Farhan Yousaf, Sufiyan Muqeem, Shahnawaz Dahani, Arshad Iqbal.

Quetta Gladiators: Saud Shakeel (c), Sam Harper, Rilee Rossouw, Hasan Nawaz, Khawaja Nafay (wk), Bevon Jacobs, Jahanad Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Khalil Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq.

The toss is under 20 mins away. Karachi has increasingly become a bowling pitch and batters could be in for a tough time. All eyes on the two skipper -- Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel.

Quetta somehow, just does not seem to have the best team for the format. Saud Shakeel, a player with decent Test technique has been designated to lead the team, while no big international star is there as well.

The Karachi deck has transitioned from a batter’s paradise to a more balanced surface. Expect some early swing for the Pacers, but the middle overs will likely belong to the spinners.

• Matches Played: 26
• Wins (Peshawar Zalmi): 13
• Wins (Quetta Gladiators): 12
• No Result: 1

Mohammad Haris, Babar Azam (c), Kusal Mendis (wk), Farhan Yousaf, Michael Bracewell, Abdul Samad, Iftikhar Ahmed, Aamer Jamal, Sufiyan Muqeem, Shoriful Islam, Nahid Rana, Aaron Hardie, Brian Bennett, Khalid Usman, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shahnawaz Dahani, Khurram Shahzad, Mirza Tahir Baig, Ali Raza, Abdul Subhan, Kashif Ali, Mohammad Basit

Saud Shakeel (c), Sam Harper, Rilee Rossouw, Hasan Nawaz, Khawaja Nafay (wk), Bevon Jacobs, Jahandad Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Khalil Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq, Ben McDermott, Tom Curran, Brett Hampton, Alzarri Joseph, Bismillah Khan, Ahsan Ali, Jahanzaib Sultan, Ahmed Daniyal, Shamyl Hussain, Wasim Akram, Khan Zaib, Saqib Khan