Around 11,000 of the 14,500 seats at Sharjah Cricket Stadium were filled over the course of the night
Pakistan’s star all-rounder Shahid Afridi made hat-trick in second match against Maratha Arabians on inaugural day of T10 cricket league in Sharjah.
He took a hat-trick with the first three balls he bowled in the format as his franchise beat a Maratha Arabians side captained by Virender Sehwag by 25 runs.
Maratha Arabians captain Virender Sehwag won the toss and elected to field first. His team scored 96 for 7 while chasing Pakhtoon’s mammoth 22-run target.
Before going for match, Sehwag said: “I enjoyed the first game very much. In such a format, it is important to bowl dot balls which will create pressure on the opposition.
The format might be a new one, but the sensation felt similar and has so often been the case over the past two decades, Afridi’s heroics delighted a sizable crowd in Sharjah.
Around 11,000 of the 14,500 seats at Sharjah Cricket Stadium were filled over the course of the night.
A lot of people wearing yellow shirts with “10 Afridi” inscribed on the back despite the newness of the event and the lack of official merchandise stalls in the vicinity
At its launch event in October, Afridi had said: “When [Pakhtoons owner Habib Khan] came to tell me about this, I said, ‘Please, let me play in this format’
He further said it was of course, a step into the unknown for everyone. Pakhtoons’ total of 121 for 4 had proved well beyond the Arabians, and Hales said “between 100 and 130” would be a good score in 10-over innings in Sharjah.
T10 Cricket League is the franchise-based competition and the format of the league is same as Indian Premier League (IPL) format.