'Learnt a lot from SA tour'

The memory of being struck for five sixes in an over by David Miller in the second T20I against South Africa last month might have had a good effect on young Mohammad Saifuddin. The 21-year-old seems to be learning to soak up the pressure of bowling in the shortest format -- a development that was evident when playing for his side Comilla Victorians against Chittagong Vikings yesterday.

"To be honest I was a bit nervous in the first game as I am only playing my second BPL. But I enjoyed it this time around as I was able to learn a lot of things during the South Africa tour and gained the experience," Saifuddin told the media yesterday.

Vikings were in full swing, having added 91 in the first 10 overs but Saifuddin remained calm when he was introduced into the line of fire. He defeated the dangerous Soumya Sarkar's attempted scoop off a slower delivery and rattled the stumps to bring his side back into the game.

"He [Soumya] was well set at the crease and was striking boundaries. I tried to bowl dot balls to him, which eventually worked. It's normal in T20 that bowlers will go for runs, and sometimes they also check the run-rate. We were not worried about their flourishing start. We had a talk during the drinks break and said that if we could take a wicket quickly, we might be able to restrict them under 150, which we did," Saifuddin said.

It was his intelligent bowling which put the skids on Chittagong as he ended up with the match-winning figures of three for 24 from four overs.