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Zalmi favourites in final but Kingsmen arrive with odds-defying juju

Published

5 months ago

2026/05/3

Priyan

Peshawar Zalmi trumped Hyderabad Kingsmen in a close thriller earlier in the season [Cricinfo]

The Pakistan Super League will have a popular winner this season. It is either Peshawar Zalmi and their adored leader Babar Azam triumphing at what is his home ground, or Hyderabad Kingsmen, a flawed side that has caught fire at the right moments to defy odds to stay alive until the very end.

In Zalmi, there is a team that, with its relentless consistency all tournament, cricketing logic dictates should be the favourites. But in Kingsmen, there is a team Pakistanis can relate to so deeply, one that starts poorly, fixates on impossible scenarios, takes advantage of net run rates, and pulls victories out of dead-and-buried scenarios with what feels like unstoppable momentum on its side. This is the team for whom Pakistani logic will promise that the favourites tag is just another mere obstacle to bulldoze past.

Zalmi have the ingredients a league-winning side needs to possess. The top two run-scorers in the league, as well as the top wicket-taker, all wear yellow. Babar and Kusal Mendis’ phenomenal consistency frees up Mohammad Haris at the top for a free hit in the powerplay, and sets up enough of a platform to take the pressure off the rest.

Sufiyan Muqim, well clear of everybody else on the wickets chart, can derail any batting line-up in his current form, while Iftikhar Ahmed has proved a surprise success with the ball this year. In Ali Raza, Zalmi have perhaps the most valuable emerging player, and certainly the quickest. Oh, and Bangladesh fast bowler Nahid Rana is back for the final after being given dispensation by the BCB.

But Kingsmen, how do you analyse this side? They have Hunain Shah, the scripter of so many of their great moments. That inswinging yorker against Rawalpindiz that secured qualification, those five more in the final over against Islamabad United to seal one of the great PSL wins. They have Usman Khan, no torque and all muscle, like a Bentley stripped for parts and repurposed as a crude battering ram, a cricketing specimen that just isn’t meant to be successful, and has somehow found its ecological niche over the past fortnight.

They have Marnus Labuschagne, a captain who had never put on a T20 armband before, yet lost himself in the magic of Friday night, charging across the field before emotion overcame him. Someone who has, over the past month, come to understand what cricket in Pakistan is all about, and thrown himself into it with the zeal of a convert.

Momentum and destiny, all appears to lie with the Kingsmen. They have now won seven of their last eight, and found multiple matchwinners in that time. They may not have the completeness of Zalmi, but they will perhaps sense that adversity hasn’t touched their opposition in the way it has tested them. If they can turn this into a game of nerves, Kingsmen have the experience to come through in a way Zalmi might not.

Most importantly, though, a PSL season largely lost to empty stadiums offered a reminder on Friday of how much match-going crowds add to the value of a contest. Most of this season may not have been a classic, but with spectators now watching on, the league is quickly making up for lost time.

Babar Azam is the leading run-scorer of the tournament, one run away from becoming the leading run-scorer in any PSL season. Having endured the roughest patch of his career, something appears to have finally clicked for his T20 game. Across this season, he has become a complete T20 batter rather than the staid accumulator he was for much of his career. Mendis’ form may have helped, but Babar’s form has only grown. In front of an adoring crowd that will, in large part, have come to see him, the Zalmi captain has the chance to secure a legacy-building win that may yet give his international career a second wind.

He may not be in the touch Kingsmen wish, but few would barrack against Glenn Maxwell in the biggest games. So far, Maxwell has played little more than a bit-part role, primarily with the ball, where he has offered genuine value. However, when Kingsmen battled to stay alive in their final group game, he offered a well-timed reminder of how high his ceiling remains in a 37-ball onslaught that fetched 70, and gave his side the cushion to get the huge net run rate win they needed. Pakistani cricket loves a wildcard, and in Maxwell, Kingsmen have the ultimate ace they can play on Sunday.

Rana has arrived in Pakistan and will take his place in the starting XI. That could squeeze Khurram Shahzad out. No other changes are expected.

Peshawar Zalmi (probable) Mohammad Haris (wk), Babar Azam (capt), Kusal Mendis, Michael Bracewell, Abdul Samad, Aaron Hardie, Iftikhar Ahmed, Farhan Yousaf, Nahid Rana, Sufyan Moqim, Mohammad Basit

Kingsmen will go in with an unchanged side.

Hyderabad Kingsmen (probable): Maaz Sadaqat, Marnus Labuschagne (capt), Saim Ayub, Usman Khan (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Kusal Perera, Irfan Khan, Hassan Khan, Hunain Shah, Mohammad Ali, Akif Javed

[Cricinfo]

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Latest News

Landslide Early Warnings issued to the Districts of Kandy, Kegalle, Matale and Ratnapura

Published

10 hours ago

2026/10/4

Priyan

The Hational Building Research Institute (NBRI) has issued landslide early warnings to the Districts of Kandy, Kegalle, Matale and Ratnapura valid from 2200 hrs on 03rd October upto 2200 hrs on 04th October 2026.

Accordingly,

LEVEL II (AMBER) landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Udu Dumbara and Minipe 8n the Kandy district, Dehiowita in the Kegalle district, and Ambanganga Korale and Matale in the Matale district.

LEVEL I (YELLOW) landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Rambukkana in the Kegalle district, Rattota in the Matale district, and Eheliyagoda in the Ratnapura district.

Latest News

Turkish court detains football refereeing chief pending corruption trial

Published

1 day ago

2026/10/3

Priyan

The refereeing scandal is the latest controversy to shake football in Turkiye [Aljazeera]

The head of Turkiye’s football refereeing body and four other officials have been placed in pretrial detention by a court as part of a corruption investigation, the state news agency Anadolu reports.

Ferhat Gundogdu, head of the Central Referees Committee, and six others appeared before a judge over allegations of manipulation of the referee administration process, Anadolu said on Saturday.

They appeared on Friday before a judge at Istanbul’s Caglayan courthouse on several charges, including forgery of official documents, breach of trust and illegal acquisition of personal data, the report said.

The judge remanded five people in custody and granted the other two conditional release, Anadolu said.

It was the latest scandal to shake football in Turkiye, coming exactly a year after the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) suspended 149 referees on charges of illegal betting.

On Thursday night, police from the illegal betting and sports crime unit also detained Yasin Kol, a referee from Turkiye’s top-flight Super Lig, as well as an assistant referee, media reports said.

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said prosecutors are examining claims about “interference in the processes of referee classification, assignments, scoring and appointments as well as the exams on rules”.

During raids on Tuesday, police searched the VAR room at TFF’s headquarters in Istanbul. Observers said the investigation was likely linked to last year’s betting scandal and would have implications for the federation.

“It does seem to be a continuation of 2025, and it looks like it will continue further,” sports journalist Ayhan Sensoy told the AFP news agency.

Sensoy, who wrote a 2024 book on the issue called The Gambling Pit, said it was unlikely that federation bosses “have any chance of staying in office”.

So far, the TFF has not directly addressed the arrests as its top officials are due to fly home on Saturday after attending Friday night’s Belgium-Turkiye UEFA Nations League clash in Liege, which Turkiye lost 3-0.

[Aljazeera]

Foreign News

Ten injured after car crashes into rugby supporters in Australia

Published

1 day ago

2026/10/3

Priyan

A fire truck drives towards a crash site as a police vehicle blocks a road in Wallsend, News South Wales, on October 3, 2026, after a car drove into a crowd [Aljazeera]

A car has crashed into a crowd of rugby league supporters in the eastern Australian city of Newcastle, injuring 10 people, including three children.

New South Wales police said on Saturday that two of the injured – a five-year-old girl and a 67-year-old man – were in a critical condition and the other eight were in stable condition in hospital.

Police said they had arrested the 18-year-old man driving the vehicle and were investigating what happened. They said the crash was not believed to be related to “terrorism”.

The crowd had gathered to farewell the local rugby league side, the Newcastle Knights, ahead of their grand final against the Sydney Roosters on Sunday.

Newcastle Lord Mayor Gavin Morris said the driver, a rugby league fan, had lost control of his vehicle and had been taken into custody.

“He was revving the car, he was excited, he was a supporter, he was there for the joy of the moment,” Morris told the national broadcaster ABC.

“Somehow he lost control of the car … and he’s gone into the crowd,” he added.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “My thoughts are with everyone injured or involved in the horrible incident this morning in Newcastle.”

“Rugby league brings people together, and this should have been a weekend of excitement and pride for Newcastle fans,” he wrote in a social media post.

[Aljazeera]