PSL 2026 turns into a laughing stock as Babar Azam’s Peshawar Zalmi stage a comedic fielding blooper
Published - 16 Apr 2026, 10:38 AM | Updated - 16 Apr 2026, 11:11 AM
Peshawar Zalmi screwed up an easy run-out chance last night, when they were up against the Quetta Gladiators for the 23rd match of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL). In a chaotic situation on a free hit delivery, a Peshwar Zalmi fielder missed to hit the stumps at the non-striker’s end, when the batter was almost halfway on the pitch.
Pakistan cricket team's fielders staged multiple bloopers in the field in multiple matches. Over the years, their level of fielding seems to have developed not so much. The Zalmi fielder had the opportunity to hit either side of the crease, but missed the chance completely.
The incident happened in the last over of the Quetta Gladiators vs Peshawar Zalmi PSL 2026 match
In the last over of the first innings of the PSL 2026 match, Peshwar Zalmi got an easy chance to run out an opposing team batter. The third ball of the 20th over was a free hit as the Zalmi pacer Ali Raza delivered a waist-high no-ball.
For the free hit, Quetta Gladiators batter Abrar Ahmed was on strike, and Usman Tariq was on the non-striker’s end. Ahmed created some room and played the cut shot to guide the ball towards the backward point region.
The Peshwar fielder acted weirdly
As soon as the ball made contact with the bat, Usman Tariq left his crease to steal a run. Abrar Ahmed also went out of his crease. While the batters were trying to get a single, a Peshwar Zalmi fielder picked up the ball.
By the time the fielder picked up the ball from the ground, both of the batters were well outside their creases. Ahmed quickly turned back and returned to the safe zone, while his batting partner, Tariq, was far away from the non-striker’s crease.
The first intention of the fielder was to quickly throw the ball at the stumps. But to reduce the gap with the stumps, the fielder started to run to cover some distance, and then launched the ball, targeting the stumps on the non-striker’s end. Despite getting so much time in hand to lock in the target, the ball went far from the stump, and Tariq returned to the crease safely.
Comedy of errors in #PSL pic.twitter.com/xWnrySjlMK
— Nibraz Ramzan (@nibraz88cricket) April 15, 2026
Babar Azam played a match-winning knock
Batting first, Quetta Gladiators posted 154 runs for 10 wickets in 20 overs. Peshawar Zalmi captain Babar Azam played a match-winning knock to claim the PSL game. Maintaining a strike rate of 139.22, the star opener secured 71 runs off 51 balls, powered by 10 fours. Mohammad Haris and Kusal Mendis also played their part well in the run chase. Zalmi needed only 18.3 overs to claim the target at the expense of two wickets only.
With another win, Peshawar Zalmi remains on top of the PSL 2026 points table without losing a single match after playing 7 matches. With 6 wins and one washed-out match, Zalmi has 13 points and a net run rate of +2.404. They are 5 points ahead of the Multan Sultans, who are second in the ladder with 8 points.
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