‘Did not think Afridi would bat so sensibly’

Pakistan star Shahid Afridi kept his cool to take Comilla Victorians to victory over Sylhet Sixers in his team's opening Bangladesh Premier League fixtrure (BPL). Not known for his cool and collected approach, Afridi took responsibility to take his side home with an innings that surprised even Victorians coach Mohammad Salahuddin.

He did not always look convincing at the start of the innings, hitting a four with an outside edge off a full toss to get his first boundary before a mix-up with set batsman at the other end, Tamim Iqbal saw the latter lose his wicket and brought Sylhet sharply back in contention with Comilla needing 31 from 22.

Ball went past his edge a couple of times and he mistimed or skied a few as well but then showed maturity in picking the right deliveries to hit -- a counter-attacking ploy that worked wonders at the end in a tight situation. Comilla coach conceded that they were in a tight spot. "

"I did not think that Afridi would bat so sensibly. I hope he will play this sensibly in the whole tournament,' coach Salahuddin said.

The coach however expected that the match will be a low-scoring one in a pitch where all batsmen found it difficult to play shots. "Play is taking place every day and it's tough for the curators. We don't expect the wicket to be good. There is dew in the evening which is why more runs are scored then", he opined.

The lack of runs makes Afridi's innings more valuable in hindsight as he laced his innings with five fours and two sixes which included the winning boundary with an expert sweep shot.