Pakistan bowler Wahab Riaz starred with the ball and compatriot Azhar Mahmood excelled with the bat as Kent defeated Gloucestershire by eight wickets in their Friends Life T20 South Group game in Beckenham. Left-armer Riaz overcame a case of the jitters to take five wickets in seven balls, including a hat-trick, and Mahmood then clattered an unbeaten 106 from 57 balls to guide Kent to their second win of the campaign with seven balls to spare.
Riaz, on his home debut, conceded 13 runs in his first over and appeared edgy, aborting his run-up twice before sending down his first ball, but his decision to bowl around the wicket for his second over saw an upturn in his fortunes. “Obviously it is a good feeling and is like a dream come true for me,” Riaz said.
“Every bowler always dreams about getting a hat-trick and I’ve now been able to get that, so thank God. It was my first hat-trick; I had been close once or twice before but never managed to do it. So I was happy, I had done well for Kent.” Riaz added.