The fourth season of Lanka Premier League (LPL) got underway on Sunday with Jaffna Kings and Colombo Strikers locking horns in the season opener, which the former won by 21 runs at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. After being invited to bat first, Jaffna got off to an explosive start before Colombo and Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah crashed the party.

The pacer didn't just inflict the first blow on Jaffna but he also gave their opener and Afghanistan batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz a fiery send off, who was earlier dropped in the match. The video of the incident didn't take long to go viral on social media.

Gurbaz was caught for 21(11) by Ramesh Mendis, who completed the sharp catch running behind from mid-on. Shah broke out in wild celebration soon after the dismissal, also sledging Gurbaz when he walked past him. However, Gurbaz preferred not to escalate the matter and ignored Shah as he kept walking towards the dugout despite the angry reaction.

Before Gurbaz began playing his shots he got a lucky reprieve on 1 in the first over of the match bowled by Shah. Gurbaz had then got a thick edge but even before the slip fielder could react the ball had already gone past him and settled at the boundary ropes.

Shah is the same player, who had smoked two maximums against Afghanistan in the World T20 last year in Australia, rescuing Pakistan from the jaws of defeat. With 11 required in the final six balls, Shah didn't waste time and dispatched the first two balls by Afghanistan bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi for maximums, helping Pakistan beat their neighbours by a wicket.

Meanwhile, batting first Jaffna went to post a stiff 173/5 in 20 overs, with Bangladesh batter Towhid Hridoy smashing 54 off 39 balls. Batting at a healthy strike-rate of almost 140, Hridoy smashed four boundaries and one maximum.

Shah, on the other hand, managed just that one wicket and didn't get to complete his four-over quota, and leaked 30 runs in three overs.

In response Colombo's biggest hope and current Pakistan skipper Babar Azam couldn't do much and was dismissed for 7 by Jaffna skipper Thisara Perera. He was the first batter to depart, following which Colombo kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were eventually folded for 152 in 19.4 overs.

Read Also: 'The 3rd ODI will be Suryakumar's last chance': Jaffer's hard-hitting WC verdict amid likely return of Iyer, Rahul