PSL 11: Babar fails to topple Fakhar's all-time record with duck in final

LAHORE: Peshawar Zalmi captain Babar Azam fell short of breaking Fakhar Zaman’s all-time record for most runs in a single Pakistan Super League (PSL) season after being dismissed for a duck in the final against Hyderabad Kingsmen at Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.

The right-handed batter entered the high-stakes final needing just one run to surpass Zaman’s landmark tally. However, he failed to add to his score and was dismissed without troubling the scorers, missing out on a historic milestone.

Previously, the left-handed batter from the Qalandars held the record in the 2022 edition of the tournament, when he amassed 588 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 152.72, including seven half-centuries and one century.

Babar, meanwhile, has equalled the feat in 11 innings, scoring runs at an outstanding average of 73.50 and a strike rate of 145.90. His season has included two centuries and three half-centuries.

Most runs in a PSL season:

• Babar Azam (Peshawar Zalmi) – 588 runs in 2026
• Fakhar Zaman (Lahore Qalandars) – 588 runs in 2022
• Babar Azam (Peshawar Zalmi) – 569 runs in 2024
• Babar Azam (Karachi Kings) – 554 runs in 2021
• Mohammad Rizwan (Multan Sultans) – 550 runs in 2023
• Mohammad Rizwan (Multan Sultans) – 546 runs in 2022
• Kusal Mendis (Peshawar Zalmi) – 541* runs in 2026
• Babar Azam (Peshawar Zalmi) – 522 runs in 2023
• Mohammad Rizwan (Multan Sultans) – 500 runs in 2021

Moreover, the 31-year-old previously equalled two major records during the ongoing edition of the tournament courtesy of a blistering century against Islamabad United in the Qualifier.

Babar Azam top-scored in the high-stakes fixture with a swashbuckling 103 off just 59 deliveries, decorated with 12 fours and four sixes, helping the table-toppers post a commanding total of 221/7 in their 20 overs.

His 57-ball century in the match marked his second of the ongoing edition, making him only the second batter in the history of the marquee league to register two centuries in a single season, joining Usman Khan, who achieved the feat in PSL 9 for Multan Sultans.