Lahore V Hyderabad Highlights, PSL: Mustafizur Spoils Marnus' Debut As Qalandars Humble Kingsmen In Season Opener

Hello and welcome to our live blog of Lahore Qalandars vs Hyderabad Kingsmen match 1 of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2026. The match will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Stay tuned with us for match updates and scoreboard.

Hyderabad Kingsmen: Saim Ayub, Sharjeel Khan, Maaz Sadaqat, Usman Khan(w), Marnus Labuschagne(c), Shayan Jahangir, Hammad Azam, Kusal Perera, Syed Saad Ali, Hassan Khan, Riley Meredith, Irfan Khan, Akif Javed, Rizwan Mehmood, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Tayyab Arif, Hunain Shah, Asif Mehmood

Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Naeem, Abdullah Shafique, Parvez Hossain Emon(w), Sikandar Raza, Asif Ali, Shaheen Afridi(c), Haris Rauf, Mustafizur Rahman, Usama Mir, Gudakesh Motie, Hussain Talat, Dunith Wellalage, Rubin Hermann, Haseebullah Khan, Tayyab Tahir, Ubaid Shah, Mohammad Farooq

Toss Update: Lahore Qalandars won the toss and have opted to bat first.

Hyderabad Kingsmen: Saim Ayub, Usman Khan(w), Marnus Labuschagne(c), Kusal Perera, Irfan Khan, Rizwan Mehmood, Hassan Khan, Hammad Azam, Riley Meredith, Mohammad Ali, Akif Javed

Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Naeem, Abdullah Shafique, Parvez Hossain Emon, Sikandar Raza, Haseebullah Khan(w), Asif Ali, Shaheen Afridi(c), Haris Rauf, Mustafizur Rahman, Ubaid Shah

Mohammad Naeem and Fakhar Zaman are out on the crease and they are looking to give their side a steady start without losing wickets from the top. Lahore has a good bowling attack and that makes the batters target an insurance score and then go for more. Fakhar and Naeem are aiming for it.

Mustafizur Rahman’s transition from the IPL to the PSL in 2026 has been one of the most talked-about storylines in franchise cricket, marked by a significant financial hit and geopolitical complexity.

In December 2025, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) acquired Mustafizur for a record INR 9.20 crore (approximately $1.1 million) during the mini-auction, making him the most expensive Bangladeshi player in IPL history. However, on January 3, 2026, the BCCI directed KKR to release him. While no official reason was given, the decision was linked to strained relations between India and Bangladesh and regional security concerns. Following this, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) responded by banning IPL broadcasts in the country.

Shortly after his IPL exit, Mustafizur returned to his former franchise, Lahore Qalandars, as a direct signing for the 2026 season (PSL 11). He features in LQ's playing XI against Hyderabad Kingsmen in the season opener.

Some good ball striking from Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Naeem and Lahore Qalandars are off to a good start in the powerplay. Zaman has been the more aggressive one, scoring 38 runs. Naeem has also found occasional boundaries and the duo made sure they get a steady start losing no wickets in the powerplay. They need to get more than 200 to put up a challenge in this surface.

Finally the partnership gets broken. Hassan Khan tossed the ball up in the middle, Mohammad Naeem went to clear the long-on fielder but the ball hit the inside half of his bat and sailed to the hands of the long-on fielder. A crucial breakthrough for Hyderabad and they will look to make the opening big.

Chaos in Lahore Qalandars side as they lose three wickets in no time including their set openers. First Abdullah Shafique departs as he gets run out. Fakhar set off for a run after an LBW appeal, Shafique responded but was unsure of where the ball went and stopped in the middle. The hesitance was enough for him to lose his wicket. Next over Hassan Khan strikes again as Fakhar's slog sweep fails to beat the deep fielder.

After the collapse, Haseebullah Khan and Parvez Hossain Emon are looking to build a partnership. They have to steady the ship before they can go hard on the bowlers yet again. But they have slowed down a lot and now the pressure is on them to break free yet again and accelerate. Haseebullah is leading the consolidation.

After a small partnership between Haseebullah and Emon, Emon has to depart as Riley Meredith strikes. Slower bouncer angling away outside off, Emon looks to pull and drags the ball to long on. The deep fielder settles to take an easy catch in the end. Haseebullah is joined by Sikandar Raza.

Sikandar Raza led Zimbabwe with distinction in the 2026 T20 World Cup. He became the first Zimbabwean player to pass 3,000 T20I runs. He also reached the milestone of 100 T20I wickets during the tournament.

Raza played a vital role in Zimbabwe’s upset wins over Australia and Sri Lanka. He scored 45 runs off 26 balls against Sri Lanka. This performance earned him his 20th Player of the Match award. He broke the record for the oldest captain to win this award in an ICC event.

In the final group match against South Africa, Raza scored 73 runs from 43 balls. He also took 3 wickets for 29 runs. This was the highest individual score by a Zimbabwe captain in T20 World Cup history.

Raza maintains a strong bond with the PSL. Raza, despite being from Zimbabwe, was born in Sialkot, Pakistan, making the league a personal homecoming for him.

He recently confirmed his commitment to the Qalandars for PSL 11 in 2026. Raza often chooses loyalty to this franchise over other lucrative league offers. His work ethic is highly regarded by the team management.

Haseebullah finally shifts gears and attacks the bowlers. Takes two boundaries off Mohammad Ali and sets Qalandars for a solid finish. Meanwhile, Sikandar Raza struck two boundaries too in the earlier over against Hassan Khan, Qalandars will need to make the last two overs big.

A solid last over for Lahore Qalandars and they are able to give Hyderabad Kingsmen a target of 200 runs. 22 runs comes from the last over of Mohammad Ali. Asif Ali starts with a six but he gets bowled in the same over. Shaheen Shah Afridi comes in and strike two sixes in two balls to finish on a strong note. Qalandars have a strong bowling attack and they will back themselves to defend the score.

Hyderabad Kingsmen are off to a solid start as both openers Saim Ayub and Usman Khan found boundaries with ease. But the partnership gets broken in the third over of the innings as Lahore Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi remove Usman Khan. Usman edged Shaheen's delivery to his pads which deflected to the hands of the diving keeper. Sikandar Raza spotted the edge and directed Shaheen to take the review. DRS shows clear spike and Usman departs.

Solid bowling from Shaheen Afridi and Ubaid Shah as the pace bowling duo keep things tight in the powerplay. Despite a good start in the first two overs, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Ubaid Shah were able to pull back things and they dismissed both the Kingsmen openers Usman Khan and Saim Ayub. Ayub was the latest to depart as he clipped the ball straight to deep square leg. Marnus Labuschagne out on the crease with task in hand.

Hyderabad Kings are sliding into a collapse as they lose two wickets in two overs. Kusal Perera and Irfan Khan are the dismissed batters and captain Marnus Labuschagne is under pressure now. Kusal Perera missed a reverse sweep to Raza and got struck on the pads. Meanwhile, Irfan Khan fails to pick the slower one and hoicks it to long on who takes a simple catch in the end. Hyderabad Kings are in trouble now.

Hyderabad Kings are now struggling hard as they have lost half their side. Captain Marnus Labuschagne was also dismissed by Sikandar Raza and Kingsmen are down to their last reserves of batting. Labuschagne danced down the pitch and looked to power it down the ground. Ended up pushing it away from his body and Raza took a good diving catch to his right. Hassan Khan and Rizwan Mehmood are out on the crease and are trying to stage a comeback.

Haris Rauf's pace has been too hot to handle for the Hyderabad Kingsmen batters. Both Hassan Khan and Rizwan Mehmood depart in his consecutive overs and with it Hyderabad Kingsmen's hopes sink as well. First Hassan Khan inside edged a ball to the hands of Haseebullah and then Rauf clean bowled Rizwan Mehmood. That's a fiery bowling performance from Qalandars and they are cruising towards victory.

A dominant victory for Lahore Qalandars. They beat Hyderabad Kingsmen in the season opener by 69 runs and register two points on the board. It was a rather comprehensive performance from them. Got a big start from Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Naeem and later Haseebullah Khan finished things well for them with support from Shaheen Shah Afridi and Asif Ali. During bowling, they were always in control with Haris Rauf and Sikandar Raza running through the middle order. A happy outing for Mustafizur Rahman as well after his IPL snub. He scalped one wicket and contributed to the victory in Lahore.

Lahore Qalandars return to action on March 28. Sunday. They will play against Karachi Kings.

Hyderabad Kingsmen play Multan Sultans next on April 1, Wednesday.

The IPL 2026 commence on March 28, Saturday with the opening match between defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad.