PSL 2026: All-round Iftikhar Ahmed helps Peshawar beat Hyderabad in last-ball thriller

Peshawar Zalmi inflicted a fourth successive defeat in the Pakistan Super League 2026 (PSL 2026) on Hyderabad Kingsmen on Wednesday, April 8 at National Stadium, Karachi. After being put in to bat first, Hyderabad were bundled out for 145 as Iftikhar Ahmed and Sufiyan Muqeem spun a web around their batters. In reply, Peshawar pulled off a thrilling chase, getting over the line on the last ball of the innings to win by four wickets.

Earlier, Hyderabad got off to a brisk start to their innings, with Maaz Sadaqat (17 off 8), coming out all guns blazing. However, Iftikhar Ahmed ensured that he didn’t last long at the crease, dismissing him in the third over.

Ahmed further piled on the misery on Hyderabad, dismissing Saim Ayub (14 off 15), Usman Khan (0 off 1) and Sharjeel Khan (2 off 5) inside one over to leave them reeling at 34/4 in five overs. Seeing their team in disarray, Kusal Perera and captain Marnus Labuschagne (27 off 27) got involved in a massive 82-run stand off 55 balls for the fifth wicket to rescue their team’s innings.

Their partnership was brought to an end by Sufiyan Muqeem (4/32), who cleaned up Hyderabad’s tail in no time to bundle them out in 18.2 overs.

Later, in the second innings, Peshawar lost Mohammad Haris (11 off 6) cheaply, before captain Babar Azam (43 off 37) and Kusal Mendis (27 off 23) got involved in a 49-run partnership for the second wicket off 39 balls. Following Mendis’ dismissal, Michael Bracewell (25 off 19) kept the run chase on track alongside Babar.

However, there was a twist in the tale with Peshawar losing three wickets inside 14 balls and were reduced to 125/6 in 17.1 overs. The match went right down to the wire, with Peshawar needing 14 runs to win off last six balls. It took the experience of Iftikhar Ahmed (15* off 10), who could do nothing wrong in the day, to take Peshawar over the line. 

As a result, Peshawar rose to fourth spot on the points table with five points from three games, while Hyderabad continued to reel at the bottom, still searching for their first points after four matches.

Best Batter of the Match

Best Bowler of the Match

Player of the Match

Iftikhar Ahmed was adjudged Player of the Match for his terrific all-round show. He first broke the back of Hyderabad's batting with his four-wicket haul and later finished the match with his cameo of 15* (10). His unbeaten 21-run stand off 17 balls with Aamer Jamal (6* off 10) proved to be the turning point of the match. 

What did the captains say:

Winning Captain, Babar Azam (Peshawar Zalmi):

Didn't expect it (tight finish). They had a lot of lefties and the pitch offered assistance for the spinners. We gained the momentum in the powerplay. Credit to them as they came back superbly. Iftikhar finished it well. The lesser mistakes we make, the better it is for us.

Losing Captain, Marnus Labuschagne (Hyderabad Kingsmen):

That's a tough one to swallow there. I think we got so close there that it almost felt like it was there and Ifi (Iftikhar Ahmed) played a nice shot in that last over and sort of brought things back to their favour. (On fighting till the end) We tried to use our two time violations so we could keep talking and get our fields right and get the best fielders in the positions and make sure we did all the small things right. So much credit has to go to our two fast bowlers that bowled the last four overs. Sometimes it doesn't go your way, but that is an unbelievable finish there to keep us in the game. I've sort of said to the boys before, I don't think we've played a full match yet where we've put everything together. I think our game against Multan, we got 230. We put it together with the bat. Today, we didn't put it together with the bat. I think we lost six for two. But once again, KP (Kusal Perera) played an amazing innings and got us into a position and we built a partnership through the middle there. And then we put an unbelievable display of bowling on to almost take a win.