Babar Azam's Peshawar Zalmi (PES) outclassed Saheen Afridi's Lahore Qalandars (LAH) with ease at the Gaddafi Stadium. Qalandars scored only 129 in the first innings, which was easily chased by Zalmi. Babar Azam, with an unbeaten 56, took his team safely home. 

Toss and the first innings 

PES captain Babar Azam decided to bowl first after winning the toss. The pitch was a bit tricky to bat on; bowlers got a lot of help from the surface. Player of the Match Alzarri Joseph took 3 wickets in 4 overs against 15 runs only. Zimbabwe international Sikandar Raza was the lone warrior for LAH, scoring 52 in 37 balls. 

Second inning 

Peshawar Zalmi slowly but steadily built their momentum for chasing the small target. Babar Azam's commanding role with the bat did not allow Qalandars' bowlers to spread their wings. Saheen Afridi took a brace that proved not enough to keep his team relevant in the high-voltage encounter. Babar was well accompanied by Hussain Talat, who got an unbeaten 51 off 37 balls.

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Post-match reactions:

Babar Azam (Peshawar Zalmi skipper): "Every game is important for us, and there's no room for errors. Our bowling unit did really well in the powerplay. We worked on the plan, and I am happy as our team executed the plan well. We lost a lot of wickets, but I was confident that if the partnership with Hussain Talat continued, it would be easy for us to chase. 

Saheen Afridi (Lahore Qalandars skipper): "We changed our batting line a bit. Asif Ali came first to bat as he opened a lot in domestic cricket, so we just wanted to try him as an opening batter, but things didn't work out well for us. Our luck wasn't with us tonight. We will surely make a comeback in the next game."

Lahore Qalandars vs Peshawar Zalmi scoreboard 

Lahore Qalandars- 129/10 (19.2)

Peshawar Zalmi- 133/3 (16.4 Overs)