Babar Azam reacts after winning first PSL title as captain

LAHORE: Peshawar Zalmi captain Babar Azam termed winning his maiden Pakistan Super League (PSL) title as a captain a "very big achievement" and credited every player of his side for executing plans in all three departments throughout the tournament.

Zalmi, who first won the prestigious title in 2017 under the leadership of West Indies great Darren Sammy, had to wait for nine years to finally add another silverware in their trophy cabinet as the Babar-led side downed debutant franchise Hyderabad Kingsmen in the PSL 11 final here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.

Zalmi captain Babar's decision to field first in the summit clash proved beneficial as the Kingsmen were bowled out for a meagre 129 in 18 overs despite a cautious half-century by Saim Ayub.

In turn, Kingsmen's inform pace attack dismantled Zalmi's top order, but an 85-run partnership between Aaron Hardie and Abdul Samad laid a solid foundation for their high-reward victory.

Reflecting on his team's title-drought-ending victory, skipper Babar termed it a massive achievement for himself and for the franchise as well before applauding his teammates for proficiently fulfilling the roles assigned to them throughout the tournament across the three departments.

"It's a very big achievement for me and for Peshawar Zalmi and all the fans. Throughout the tournament, we've performed really well as a team. We enjoyed our cricket," said Babar at the post-match presentation.

"Every player executed the plans they were given in batting, bowling, and fielding. Our plan was to go match by match. Thank god we won today," he added.

The skipper specifically credited Zalmi's management, led by head coach Ottis Gibson, for highlighting the positives in every team discussion.

"Management in every match discussion took out the positives, and we focused on that. We went match by match, planning every game right after the last," Babar stated.

"We played back-to-back games. We played four games in six days. But we were determined to give our best," he added.

Although Babar had a rare failure in the final as he fell for a golden duck, the right-handed batter finished as the leading run-scorer of the PSL 11 with 588 runs in 11 innings, equalling Lahore Qalandars' Fakhar Zaman's all-time record of scoring the most runs in a single edition of the marquee league.

Consequently, the 31-year-old bagged the prestigious Hanif Mohammad Cap for finishing as the leading run-scorer and was also adjudged the best batter of the eight-team tournament.

"My own form, I wanted to get that back. In this PSL, I tried to give my best, and thankfully I could."