Peshawar Zalmi and Lahore Qalandars’ rivalry has evolved into one of the most exciting encounters in recent editions of the PSL. The faceoff of Pakistan cricket team’s big stars like Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi pulls a massive crowd to the stadium for this match. The game between the two sides showed excellent thrills and excitement. Lahore Qalandars have performed brilliantly recently, adding more value to this rivalry. In PSL 2025, Lahore Qalandars won a do-or-die game against Peshawar Zalmi to reach the playoffs. This game has increased the excitement among the fans as we bring Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars – Head-to-Head Record, Stats & Match Preview (2025).
Head-to-Head Record (Updated 2025)
| Date / Season | Winner | Result / Margin | Man of the Match (MoM) |
| Feb 2016 (PSL 1) | Peshawar Zalmi | Won by 9 Wickets | Tamim Iqbal |
| Feb 2016 (PSL 1) | Lahore Qalandars | Won by 4 runs | Cameron Delport |
| Feb 2017 (PSL 2) | Peshawar Zalmi | Won by 3 wickets | Yasir Shah |
| Feb 2017 (PSL 2) | Peshawar Zalmi | Won by 17 runs | Shakib al Hasan |
| Feb 2018 (PSL 3) | Peshawar Zalmi | Won by 10 wickets | Liam Dawson |
| Mar 2018 (PSL 3) | Peshawar Zalmi | Won by 7 wickets | Kamran Akmal |
| Feb 2019 (PSL 4) | Peshawar Zalmi | Won by 7 wickets | Hasan ALI |
| Mar 2019 (PSL 4) | Peshawar Zalmi | Won by 4 wickets | Misbah Ul Haq |
| 2020 (PSL 5) | Peshawar Zalmi | Won by 16 runs | Lewis Gregory |
| 2020 (PSL 5) | Lahore Qalandars | Won by 5 wickets | Fakhar Zaman |
| 2020 (PSL 5) | Lahore Qalandars | Won by 5 Wickets | Muhammad Hafeez |
| Feb 2021 (PSL 6) | Lahore Qalandars | Won by 4 wickets | Shaheen Afridi |
| Later 2021 (PSL 6) | Lahore Qalandars | Won by 10runs | Rashid Khan |
| Feb 2022 (PSL 7) | Lahore Qalandars | Won by 29 runs | Zaman Khan |
| Feb 2022 (PSL 7) | Peshawar Zalmi | Tie – Peshawar won Super Over | Wahab Riaz |
| Mar 17 2023 (PSL 8) | Lahore Qalandars | Won by 40 runs | Fakhar Zaman |
| Feb 26 2023 (PSL 8) | Peshawar Zalmi | Won by 37 runs | Saim Ayub |
| Mar 7 2023 (PSL 8) | Lahore Qalandars | Won by 35 runs | Mirza Tahir Baig |
| Feb 25 2024 (PSL 9) | Peshawar Zalmi | Won by 8 runs | Saim Ayub |
| Apr 24 2025 (PSL 10) | Peshawar Zalmi | Won by 7 wickets (20 balls rem.) | Alzarri Joseph |
| May 18 2025 (PSL 10) | Lahore Qalandars | Won by 26 runs | Salman Mirza |
In the early years of PSL, Lahore Qalandars played as a filler. In the first 4 seasons, Lahore Qalandars stood at the bottom of the table. Peshawar was one of the toughest sides to beat. But in the recent four editions of PSL, everything has changed. Lahore Qalandars have won 3 finals in the recent four editions of PSL. At the same time, Peshawar Zalmi’s performances in PSL have dropped in recent seasons.
However, the game between both sides always remains one of the most-watched games of the PSL. In the first 4 seasons of PSL, the rivalry between Peshawar Zalmi and Lahore Qalandars was the most boring rivalry of PSL. Both sides shared a rivalry of 7-1 in 8 games in which Peshawar Zalmi dominated Lahore Qalandars. But Lahore Qalandars squeezed that margin to 12-9 in the next 6 seasons of PSL.
PSL 2021 was the best season for Lahore Qalandars in this rivalry. In PSL 2021, Lahore Qalandars won both games against Peshawar Zalmi in the group stages. Besides 2021, there is no season in which Lahore Qalandars could win all the games against Peshawar Zalmi in the group stages.
Key Players to Watch
In these 10 seasons of PSL, the rivalry between Peshawar Zalmi and Lahore Qalandars has witnessed some top-class players. Many renowned batters and bowlers have shown excellent performances in this rivalry. Pakistani dynamic and stylish opener, Saim Ayub, is the highest run scorer against Qalandars.
Lahore Qalandars’ current captain, Shaheen Afridi, has taken the most wickets against Peshawar Zalmi. Shaheen Afridi’s performances with the ball and bat against Peshawar Zalmi are excellent. In PSL 2022, he almost won the game against Peshawar Zalmi with his batting performance. In PSL 2023, Shaheen Afridi performed excellently against Zalmi with the bat and ball in several games.
Babar Azam is another name in this rivalry that needs no introduction. His contributions with the bat for Peshawar Zalmi are crucial since he joined this team. For Lahore Qalandars, Fakhar Zaman is an aggressive batter who performed brilliantly against Zalmi.
Wahab Riaz is a prominent bowler who made important contributions to Peshawar Zalmi against Lahore Qalandars. He is also a former captain of Peshawar Zalmi. In PSL 2022, Wahab Riaz performed excellently in winning the Super Over game against Lahore Qalandars. Haris Rauf, who came from the PDP program, is a brilliant performer for Lahore Qalandars who uplift the thrill of this rivalry.
Young versatile batters, Mohammad Haris, have been at the core of Peshawar Zalmi since his joining. His continued performances add more thrill and excitement to this rivalry. Zaman Khan is an underrated name in this rivalry. Zaman Khan performed brilliantly against Peshawar Zalmi in PSL 2022, earning the man of the match award.
Last 5 Encounters: What Happened?
There were some tight games between both sides in the recent five encounters. In the recent five games, both sides have won 2 games each, with one tied. In the PSL 2023 playoffs game, Lahore Qalandars showed their best performance to win and make it to the final. In this game, the Young talent of Lahore Qalandars, Tahir Baig, was brilliant with the bat as he scored 54 runs.
Zaman Khan and Rashid Khan took two wickets each and won this game. In PSL 2024, Peshawar Zalmi took revenge. Peshawar Zalmi scored 211 runs with the help of 88 runs by Saim Ayub. With excellent performance, Peshawar Zalmi won the game by eight runs. The 2nd group game of Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi was washed out. The game did not happen due to massive rainfall in Rawalpindi.
In PSL 2025, both sides’ performance was below average. In the first game, Peshawar Zalmi got the better of Lahore Qalandars by winning by seven wickets. Babar Azam scored 56* runs and Alzarri Joseph took three wickets for Peshawar Zalmi in this game. In the 2nd game, Lahore Qalandars won the knockout game and reached the playoffs of PSL 2025.
Predicted Playing XIs (for preview articles)
Lahore Qalandars Lineup
Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Naim, Abdullah Shafiq, Kusal Perera, Sam Billings, Sikandar Raza, Asif Ali, Rishad Hosain, Shaheen Afridi ©, Haris Rauf, Salman Mirza
Peshawar Zalmi
Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris, Babar Azam ©, Tom Kohler Cadmore, Maaz Sadaqat, Max Bryant, Luke Wood, Ahmed Daniyal, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammad Ali, Ali Raza
In recent years, both teams witnessed a massive difference in core players. Where Peshawar Zalmi is batting heavily, and Lahore mostly relies on bowlers to clinch the victory. Players like Babar Azam, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris, and Tom Kohler Cadmore make Peshawar Zalmi a batting-heavy side. Lahore Qalandars have fast bowlers like Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Zaman Khan.
Besides bowling, Lahore Qalandars have Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafiq in the batting department. Fakhar Zaman is one of the highest run scorers for Lahore Qalandars of all time. Abdullah Shafiq showed a brilliant performance in the playoffs of PSL 2025. At the same time, Sikandar Raza has become a crucial part of Lahore Qalandars, which fills the role of an all-rounder. The Lahore Qalandars heavily invested in local talent.
Therefore, Lahore Qalandars have found two valuable talents for the future. Mohammed Naeem is one of them. Known for his aggressive batting, Naeem performed excellently for Lahore Qalandars in PSL 2025. Naeem scored 314 runs with an impressive strike rate of 162. His 46 runs on just 27 balls in the final of PSL 2025 showed he is a big-match player.
The second name in this list is Salman Mirza, who bowled well in the four games he played. In 4 games, Salman Mirza took nine wickets, including two in the final. With his impressive performance, he got a chance to make his debut for Pakistan against Bangladesh. So, overall, in combination, Lahore Qalandars are slightly ahead of Peshawar Zalmi. Peshawar Zalmi lacks maturity in bowling. After Hasan Ali and Wahab Riaz, Peshawar Zalmi failed to find a top-class local fast bowler.
Peshawar Zalmi is now investing a lot in young fast bowlers. The only positive for Peshawar Zalmi in PSL 2025 was Ali Raza. Ali Raza took 12 wickets in PSL 2025, becoming the joint highest wicket-taker for Peshawar Zalmi with Alzarri Joseph. He bowled well this season, and his skills show that he can become a big asset for Peshawar Zalmi for a longer time. Luke Wood is one of the core players for Peshawar Zalmi in the recent couple of seasons. He is among the highest wicket-takers in the last 2 seasons for Zalmi.
Strengths & Weaknesses: Team Comparison
Looking at the recent records of both sides, Lahore Qalandars improved a lot compared to the first 4 seasons of PSL. Their biggest plus point is their aggressive batters, Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Naeem. Both players give Lahore Qalandars an aggressive start in the powerplay. While in bowling, Shaheen Afridi is always the best pick to take wickets in the opening overs of the game. Haris Rauf is crucial in the middle phase to get wickets without leaking too many runs.
For Peshawar Zalmi, their top 3 batters are the backbone to score the majority of runs. Babar Azam, the all-time highest runs scorer in PSL, and Saim Ayub, the young, exciting talent. Both batters’ performances were below average in PSL 2025. Due to this, it was the first-ever season for Peshawar Zalmi not to reach the playoffs. Mohammad Haris is an excellent talent for the Peshawar Zalmi. His innovative and skilled power-hitting makes him one of the prominent names of Peshawar’s batting. In bowling, Luke Wood mostly takes important wickets in the powerplay, putting pressure on the opposition’s side.
Comparing the leadership of both sides, Shaheen Afridi appeared to be a better captain. His aggressive approach and the team’s unity bring fruitful results for his side. On the other hand, Babar Azam is unfortunate to reach the finals of PSL while reaching the playoffs in PSL 2023 and 2024. Another massive negative point for Peshawar Zalmi is that they rely too heavily on batting. Therefore, Babar Azam mostly becomes helpless against bowlers.
Lahore Qalandars has two aggressive batters, Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Naeem, in the powerplay. Shaheen Afridi and Young Salman Mirza make it difficult for the opposition batter to score runs easily in the bowling. In Death Overs, Lahore Qalandars have Sikandar Raza and Haris Rauf to manage the run scoring and wicket-taking process.
To get the maximum out of powerplay, Peshawar Zalmi changed the batting order. Saim Ayub and Mohammad Haris come as openers. Luke Wood opens the bowling for Peshawar Zalmi to take important wickets. Meanwhile, for Peshawar Zalmi, Max Bryant is a valuable option to score important runs in the death overs. While in bowling, Young Ali Raza and Alzarri Joseph are very important in reducing the flow of runs and taking wickets in the last overs of the game.
Match Prediction & Fantasy Tips
Lahore Qalandars showed a brilliant performance in recent PSL 2025 games, which gives them a slight advantage in winning this game. Winning 3 out of 4 PSL finals makes Lahore Qalandars a tougher opposition. Peshawar Zalmi has not reached the PSL final since 2021. But this will not be an easy ride for Lahore Qalandars. Peshawar Zalmi makes proper plans for every player and venue.
Shaheen Afridi has taken the most wickets in this season of the PSL. Therefore, he should be the fantasy captain for this game. His crucial wicket-taking ability and scoring in the later part of the innings make him crucial for this game. Because of his consistent run-scoring ability, Babar Azam can be an important pick as captain in fantasy cricket. Selecting vice-captain Salman Mirza, Mohammad Naeem, and Ali Raza are the top names to select as vice-captains in fantasy cricket for this game.
Match Prediction
Lahore Qalandars: 53%
Peshawar Zalmi: 47%
Conclusion
The Peshawar Zalmi and Lahore Qalandars game is always exciting as both sides have massive fan followings across Pakistan, which heats this rivalry. Both sides have had a winning rate of 50% in the last 4-5 years. Having the two best players of Pakistan in this game increases the hype of the game. In this rivalry, a couple of super-over games have occurred, which increases the thrill of the game. Therefore, keep your date marked for the Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars game.