The Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2026 tournament is in its final stages. Qualifier 1 is underway between Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United. During the match, former Pakistan captain Babar Azam scored a century and set a record, silencing all his critics who had faced a tough time in the last few months.
Babar Azam became the first batsman to score 500 runs in a single edition for the fourth time in PSL history. Babar started the match with 485 runs in 10 innings and easily crossed the 500-run mark by hitting a four off United’s Richard Gleeson in the third over of Zalmi.
Babar Azam made a new record
Babar Azam has so far scored 500 runs in a PSL season four times, surpassing Rawalpindi rivals Mohammad Rizwan, who has done so thrice for Multan Sultans. Babar scored 500 or more runs in a PSL season for the first time in 2021 for Karachi Kings, and he has since done so three times for Zalmi.
The former Pakistan captain played a brilliant century of 103 runs in 59 balls with the help of 12 fours and four sixes. He also maintained a strike rate of 174.58. This was a captain’s innings under pressure in a knockout game, with the innings being good from start to finish. Babar surpassed his previous record of 569 runs in a season.
Congratulations to our captain Mohammad Haris
The record for most runs in a season is held by Babar Azam, who has now scored 588 runs in the 2026 edition for Zalmi, surpassing the previous record of Fakhar Zaman, who had the same number of runs, but with a game in hand. Babar has a chance to surpass his Pakistani teammate, who did so in the 2022 season.
After the first innings, Zalmi opening batsman Mohammad Haris said, “The surface is a bit hard, but I am true to my game. My role at the top is to provide a good start and put runs on the board.”
“Congratulations to our captain Babar Azam for that brilliant century. When we were there we talked about the matchup and I think that’s a good score to defend to reach the final.”
Peshawar Zalmi is close to the final
Talking about the match, Islamabad United captain Shadab Khan won the toss and decided to bowl first. While batting, Babar and Haris made a partnership of 72 runs for the first wicket. Then 84 runs with Kusal Mendis. These two big partnerships helped Zalmi score 200+ for the fourth time this season as they scored 221/7.
While chasing, IU has been losing wickets at regular intervals, and with seven overs in hand, they are at 109/5 after 12.2 overs as they pull away from the run chase, leaving Babar’s team one step behind in the PSL 2026 final.
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