PSL 2026, HHK vs PZ Final Match Preview – Zalmi favourites in final but Kingsmen arrive with odds-defying juju

Big picture: Is there a real favourite?

PSL 2026 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 and 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. 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 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. With spectators now watching on, the league is quickly making up for lost time.

Form guide

Peshawar Zalmi WLWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Hyderabad Kingsmen WWWLW

Babar Azam has hit two centuries this season•PCB

In the spotlight: Babar Azam and Glenn Maxwell

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 in 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, 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.

Team news

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) 1 Mohammad Haris (wk), 2 Babar Azam (capt), 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Michael Bracewell, 5 Abdul Samad, 6 Aaron Hardie, 7 Iftikhar Ahmed, 8 Farhan Yousaf, 9 Nahid Rana, 10 Sufyan Moqim, 11 Mohammad Basit

Usman Khan and Marnus Labuschagne have had big roles to play for Hyderabad Kingsmen•Pakistan Super League

Kingsmen will go in with an unchanged side.

Hyderabad Kingsmen (probable): 1 Maaz Sadaqat, 2 Marnus Labuschagne (capt), 3 Saim Ayub, 4 Usman Khan (wk), 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Kusal Perera, 7 Irfan Khan, 8 Hassan Khan, 9 Hunain Shah, 10 Mohammad Ali, 11 Akif Javed

Pitch and conditions

The pitch for Sunday’s final has been used once, for the double-header on April 22. It is one which should not differ significantly in character from the one that produced Friday’s contest. Sunday will be slightly cooler than previous match days this week, but there is virtually no chance of rain playing spoilsport.

Stats and trivia

• Babar and Mendis need 35 more runs to become the most prolific partnership in a single PSL season. Currently, Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood for Multan Sultans in 2022 has the record.
• Zalmi have lost the joint-most PSL finals, finishing runners-up three of the four times they have made it this far. That 1-3 record is shared with Sultans.
• Should Kingsmen win, it will be the second year in a row that the lowest-placed qualifying team has gone on to lift the title. This had not happened in PSL history until last year, when Lahore Qalandars won after finishing fourth in the league.

Quotes

“Every captain dreams of lifting a trophy and I am no different. But we have to make sure that we execute our plans and don’t let the pressure get the better of us. We have to bring our A game and cannot be complacent.”
Babar Azam urges his side to maintain their composure

“For us, it is about controlling ourselves and making sure we stick to our plans and the rest will take care of itself. It is going to be a great occasion. Hyderabad has certainly lit this tournament up.”
Marnus Labuschagne dreams of finishing a rollercoaster ride on a high

Danyal Rasool is ESPNcricinfo’s Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000