Fans kept supporting me during my tough time, says Fardeen Kazi after clinching last-ball thriller for Tiigers of Kolkata

Chasing a daunting target of 106, the defending champions were in deep trouble at 9/3. But that's when Kazi stepped up, producing a masterclass under pressure for the near-packed crowd at the Daoji Konddev Stadium in Thane. The Mumbai-born batter showcased his class with a match-winning unbeaten 61 off 31 balls, an innings laced with five boundaries and three towering sixes--justifying his INR 15.90 lakh price tag as the team's highest-paid player.

"I wanted to take the game deep. Two overs of Powerplay and 50-50 were still there so I thought of taking advantage of those two overs. I wanted to finish the match. "We want to continue this momentum now and take it one match at a time. Our immediate target is to win at least five of the remaining six matches and qualify for the playoffs," Kazi said, according to ISPL press release,

The victory not only got Tiigers of Kolkata off the mark in Season 2 but also ended their winless streak. However, Kazi, the star of the night, pointed out that despite back-to-back defeats, the team was spared from social media taunts.

"Even when I wasn't scoring, fans kept messaging me on social media that they wanted to see me scoring runs and batting well. They kept supporting me. This innings is for them," he said.

He also heaped praise on Tiigers of Kolkata co-owner Aksha Kamboj for her unwavering support, regardless of results.

"I would like to thank Aksha ma'am for supporting me because I didn't win any Man of the Match awards last season but they still brought me into the team using the Right to Match (RTM) and also backed me even when I wasn't performing earlier this season," the right-handed batsman concluded.

With momentum finally on their side, Tiigers of Kolkata will look to carry their winning form into their next clash against KVN Bangalore Strikers on Sunday. (ANI)