Peshawar Zalmi got off to a strong start to their last dash for the final against Islamabad United, with Babar and Ayub sharing a 72-run stand off 46 balls. Ayub was the main aggressor. He struck Obed McCoy for three consecutive boundaries, including a no-look six into the leg side, off his second over. Following up, Babar then whacked Agha Salman for 13 runs off his first over of the game.

The pair raced to a 50-run partnership in the powerplay. Babar is by-far the leading run scorer of this edition of the PSL to date, having hit 569 runs at 56.9 including an unbeaten century. Ayub is also in the top five run scorers in the tournament with 340 runs going into the Eliminator.

With Naseem Shah having been taken off after being hit for a six in his first over to Ayub, he was brought back on to bowl the eighth over. After three singles were taken off his first three balls, he pulled his length back for his fourth. Babar looked to power him over mid off, and would have thought he got the elevation to clear Shadab on the ring. However, Shadab leapt into the air and managed to get both hands to the ball before tumbling to the ground.

The catch ended Babar’s innings for 25 off 22 balls. Babar’s strike rate has come under some criticism during the tournament, with getting out before he has time to catch up on his scoring rate the main focus of the criticism. Peshawar Zalmi reached 120-1 at the end of the 13th over of their innings.

Watch Shadab Khan’s catch to dismiss Babar Azam below

A bird, a plane? No, it’s SUPERMAN SHADAB KHAN 😱#HBLPSL9 | #KhulKeKhel | #PZvIU pic.twitter.com/PZFbd2ZNHV

— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) March 16, 2024