Afghanistan batsman Mohammad Shahzad set the 10 league on fire after smashing an unbeaten 74 off just 16 balls in the tournament opener on Monday.

His blazing innings helped the Rajputs beat the Sindhis by 10 wickets in Dubai. Batting first the Sindhis scored 94/6 in 10 overs.

In reply, Brendon McCullum (21 off 8) along with Shahzad tonked the bowlers all round the ground and reached the target in just 24 balls (16 minutes), reports the indianexpress.com.

1 4 6 4 4 6 1 6 6 4 6 4 4 6 6 6 – was the sequence of Shahzad’s knock (2 singles, 6 fours, 8 sixes). 74 is also the highest score in T10 league by a batsman. While his fifty came up in just 12 deliveries, what is most astonishing is not a single dot ball was faced. In fact there was only one dot in Rajput’s innings as they romped home with 36 balls to spare.

Earlier, Rajputs won the toss and elected to field. Karachi failed to get off to a good start but Shane Watson’s quickfire 42 helped them reach 94/6 in 10 overs. But the game was over in a matter of minutes as Shahzad went on a rampage and Sindhis finished their innings with a run rate of 24.

Earlier, in a chat with PTI 30-year-old Shahzad had spoken about his stocky built and fitness regime and said, ‘Dekhiye hum fitness bhi poori karte hain aur khaate bhi poora hain (I work a lot on my fitness but I don’t compromise on food). You want me to have a fitness routine like Kohli, it is not possible, but I am working on it (losing weight).’

Comparing his six hitting skills with India captain Virat Kohli, Shahzad had said, ‘Jitna lamba chakka woh (Kohli) maarte hain, main unse zyadaa maar saktaa hoon, zaroorat kya hain unki tarah itna diet karne ki (I can hit bigger sixes than Kohli so why do I need to follow his diet?),’ he added. Truly he has lived up to his word. Could an IPL call be around the corner?