Chasing a massive target of 217, Zalmi crumbled to 136 all out. Their collapse began immediately when captain Babar Azam fell for a golden duck, edging one to Mohammad Amir in the very first over — a soft dismissal that silenced the crowd.

Although Saim Ayub fought valiantly with a half-century, wickets tumbled around him. Abrar Ahmed ripped through Zalmi’s top and lower order, removing Haris, Kohler-Cadmore, Sufiyan Muqeem, and Mohammad Ali, two of them for ducks.

Brief resistance came from Saim Ayub and Hussain Talat, who stitched together a 60-run stand, but Usman Tariq ended Talat s knock at 35 and dismissed Max Bryant moments later. When Kyle Jamieson sent Ayub back for 52, the game quickly spiraled out of Zalmi s control.

With Zalmi reeling, Sean Abbott and Mohammad Amir mopped up the tail, the latter sealing the deal with Zalmi dismissed in just 13.3 overs.

Earlier, Quetta’s openers Finn Allen and Saud Shakeel provided fireworks. Allen blazed to a 53 off 25 balls on his PSL debut, while Shakeel anchored the innings with a composed 59.

Their foundation allowed Rilee Rossouw (21 off 10) and Kusal Mendis (35 off 14) to unleash in the death overs, helping Quetta post a formidable 216 — too much for the Zalmi lineup to chase.

Despite some breakthroughs by Sufiyan Muqeem, Alzarri Joseph, and Ali Raza, Zalmi’s bowlers were helpless against the onslaught.

Playing XI

Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam (cap), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris (wk), Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Max Bryant, Mitchell Owen, Hussain Talat, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammad Ali, Sufiyan Muqeem, Ali Raza

Quetta Gladiators: Finn Allen, Hasan Nawaz, Kusal Mendis (wk), Saud Shakeel (cap), Rilee Rossouw, Shoaib Malik, Faheem Ashraf, Kyle Jamieson, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Amir, Usman Tariq