Peshawar Zalmi crowned champions of PSL 2017

LAHORE: Peshawar Zalmi emerged as the champions of HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2017 after they beat Quetta Gladiators in the final by 58 runs at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Sunday.

They had a blazing start with the bat, racking up 52 runs in the Powerplay. The Quetta spinners, led by Mohammad Nawaz, then applied the brakes in the middle overs, but Peshawar's captain Darren Sammy wrestled back the momentum with some muscular hits. His cameo - 28 not out off 11 balls - was crucial in lifting the side to 148.

In the first-ever PSL match to be played in Pakistan due to lingering security fears in the South Asian nation, the Gladiators were left floundering at 13 for three wickets in the fifth over and never managed to recover from the setback as they were all out for 90, Reuters reported.

Kamran Akmal notched up 40 runs while West Indian Twenty20 World Cup winner Darren Sammy scored a quickfire 28 not out in Zalmi's total of 148-6.

The run up to the final was dominated by security issues after a wave of bombings by militants left more than 130 people dead last month, prompting calls for the final, like the rest of the series, to be played in United Arab Emirates.

Some high-profile foreign players such as former England captain Kevin Pietersen, who plays for the Quetta team, decided to skip the final.

But Sammy, who captained Peshawar Zalmi, produced a man-of-the-match performance as he belted three sixes in his 11-ball knock.

"The atmosphere was great. This win means a lot," Sammy said during the presentation ceremony. "It was a great experience being in Lahore. I thank the supporters and Pakistan."

Pakistan has only hosted only one international series since militants attacked a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in 2009.

In only its second year, the Twenty20 PSL competition has become a huge hit not only in Pakistan but across the globe and boasts a television viewership in millions.