It was a surreal moment for me to perform in front of Chris Gayle: Hazratullah Zazai

Hazratullah Zazai is one of the top names in the ongoing inaugural edition of the Afghanistan Premier League (APL). He first hogged all the limelight for scoring 124 runs off just 55 deliveries and on Sunday, went on to smack six sixes in a single over off the debutant Abdullah Mazari while playing against the Balkh Legends. Zazai, after achieving the feat, has termed it a ‘surreal moment’ and felt blessed to be able to do it in front of his idol, Chris Gayle.

Chris Gayle is one of the brutal hitters of a cricket ball and is known as the Univers Boss for his prowess of lighting up the stage anywhere he plays. The left-hander has been playing the T20 leagues all over the world and is featuring for the legends in APL. Even he whacked 80 runs (with 10 sixes) off 48 deliveries in the same game which helped his team post a mammoth total of 244 runs.

In response, Hazratullah unleashed himself in response and went on to score a 12-ball half-century, the feat which has managed previously by Gayle and Yuvraj Singh only. He was eventually dismissed for 62 off 17 balls by Ben Laughlin. Unfortunately, his heroics couldn’t help his team scale the total as Kabul Zwanan fell short of the target by just 21 runs.

It is a proud moment for me

Hazratullah Zazai, while speaking to the media after the match, expressed his delight for being able to make the record in front of his idol. He also clarified that he was just playing his natural game and didn’t want to prove anything to anyone.

“It was a surreal moment for me to perform in front of my idol [Gayle]. I was just trying to play my natural game and did not in any way think of outshining anyone. t is a proud moment for me. It is a very enjoyable moment for me that my name is now linked to so many big names of the game, who are really legends of the game. I am thankful to Almighty Allah for helping me score the 12-ball fifty,” he said.

The left-handed batsman has so far amassed 271 runs in six outings at an amazing strike rate of 211.71 and would be keen on continuing in the same vein.

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