'Happy to perform'

Chris Gayle, Shoaib Malik and Dwayne Smith. When the Chittagong Vikings announced the foreign members of their squad, these were the most highlighted players, while pace sensation Tymal Mills was talked about every now and then.

However, as it so happened, the impetus behind their only two wins in the Bangladesh Premier League so far was provided by someone else.

Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi had taken a four-wicket haul during Chittagong's win against the Comilla Victorians and was adjudged the player of the match, before leading Chittagong to another victory, this time with the help of his bat.

He hammered 87 off 37 balls and showed exactly why he is wanted in T20 leagues around the world. Apart from hitting six sixes and six fours, he also bowled well and finished with 1 for 24 in four overs.

At the post-match press conference Nabi said that he was very happy with his performance, adding that there were a number of other Afghan players who have the capability of doing well in T20 leagues around the world as well.

“I am very happy to get the two man of the match awards. I am very happy to perform in Bangladesh.

“You can see from the last few series against Zimbabwe, we beat them at home and away. We also did well in the T20 World Cup. We have the ability. We have some players who can play in the bigger leagues and play big cricket,” said Nabi.

Having lost four consecutive matches, it was important for Chittagong to break the jinx and Nabi believes that yesterday's win will help the Vikings start afresh in the competition.

“It was very difficult to come back after losing four games in a row. The coach and the captain kept asking everyone to give their hundred per cent on the ground. We started well in the first six overs. We lost a couple of wickets but the runs were good.

“The pitch was very good for batting and we had a target of around 160 to 170. It's a kind of pitch where if you have wickets in hand, then you must hit every ball in the last three overs and that's what I did. We carried on with our shots,” explained Nabi.

The win helped Chittagong move to fifth place with four points and pushed Rajshahi down to sixth with two points.

However, Rajshahi's Samit Patel believes that the Kings can still make it to the knock out stages.

“We lost, but we still got 170. We are doing some good stuff and then some really average stuff. We can still qualify and we know that. We have eight games left and I am sure we can get the momentum after one more win,” said Patel.

“We haven't choked, but I think we just haven't been smart enough. We played some good cricket and lost matches by three or four runs. Theoretically we should be on six points and up there,” he added.