SHARJAH: Former Pakistan Twenty20I captain Shahid Afridi bagged a hat-trick to provide the much-needed fireworks to kick-off the T10 Cricket League at Sharjah Stadium here on Thursday night. Though Kerala Kings won the first match of the T10 League against the Bengal Tigers by eight scalps, but the opening night of the new tournament belonged to Pakhtoons’ Afridi. 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. Sehwag was the third victim of Afridi’s hat-trick, trapped in front by an in-dipping slider. Two balls earlier, Rilee Rossouw had holed out to Afridi’s first ball, caught by a fine diving catch at long on by Najibullah Zadran. Dwayne Bravo was then trapped lbw before Sehwag fell in similar fashion. 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 Stadium were filled over the course of the night. Somehow, despite the newness of the event and the lack of official merchandise stalls in the vicinity, thousands arrived wearing yellow shirts with “10 Afridi” inscribed on the back. This tournament might as well have been created for the Pakistan all-rounder. At the tournament’s 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’.” Predictably, Afridi took to it immediately. His mid-innings salvo left Maratha Arabians with no chance of chasing the 122 they needed. “I really enjoyed it, it is totally different,” Afridi said after the game. “The boys did really well.” Pakhtoons were asked to bat first by Marathas and courtesy Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman’s unbeaten 45 off 22 balls, the former were able to set a 122-run target Sehwag’s men. In their reply, only two Maratha batsmen were able to enter double figures – Alex Hales (57 not out) and Hardus Viljoen (11) – as Pakhtoons bagged a 25-run victory after restricting Arabians to 96-7. Afridi still fan-favourite: Imran Nazir: Pakistan right-handed opener Imran Nazir believes Afridi will always remain a cricketing heartthrob because of his ability to produce magical moments with bat and ball. “Afridi has been doing this for many years now and his ability to provide excitement to his fans is unmatched,” said Nazir. “His hat-trick in the T10 league and that too by dismissing Sehwag was a treat for his fans.” Former Pakistan ODI captain Azhar Ali suggested on Twitter that the T10 matches should also experiment with the number of players, since 11 cricketers seem too much for such a short match. However, Nazir believes, like T20, players and team will need time to adjust to the 10-over format so that they can better utilise their playing elevens. “When T20 was introduced, the pace of the game seemed to be too fast and players struggled, however, as they played more and more matches they got comfortable,” he said. “Players will adjust to this format too once they play a few more matches.” He continued by praising Afridi again, saying his hat-trick has triggered more interest in the T10 league. “Afridi’s hat-trick has surely given the format a push. Now fans have something new to watch as well.” Published in Daily Times, December 16th 2017.