Former Pakistan T20I captain Shahid Afridi on Thursday bagged a hat-trick to provide the much-needed fireworks to kick-off the T10 Cricket League in the UAE.

All-rounder dismissed three Maratha Arabian batsmen — South African Rilee Rossouw, West Indian Dwayne Bravo and former Indian opener Virendar Sehwag — to complete the first hat-trick in the newest format.

“When I told Afridi about the new format, he showed a lot interest and was excited about it. I knew he will do something big in the tournament,” said Habib Khan, owner of Afridi’s team Pakhtoons. “The 10-overs-a-side format promised more excitement for the fans as compared to T20. We couldn’t have wished for a better start to the event all thanks to Afridi’s hat-trick.”

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.