Mohammad Nabi Powers Afghanistan to 169 Against Sri Lanka

In a do-or-die game against Sri Lanka, Afghanistan has posted a decent total of 169 at Abu Dhabi. This is a crucial Group B clash that can also prove to be an eliminator for Afghanistan. They need to win this game to stay alive in the tournament, otherwise, Bangladesh will advance to the Super Four alongside table-toppers Sri Lanka.

The toss was won by Afghanistan in today’s clash against Sri Lanka. They quickly decided to bat first, as the pitch looked good for batting. They made two changes for this important game by including Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Darwish Rasooli in place of AM Ghazanfar and Gulbadin Naib.

When the Afghan team came out to bat, they looked confident at the start. Rahmanullah Gurbaz started aggressively to give his team a good score in the Powerplay. The opener looked good in today’s match, as he smashed two sixes at the start.

But Sri Lankan bowlers came back into the game sharply. They removed Gurbaz and Sediqullah Atal quickly, courtesy of some great bowling by Thushara. This fatal blow disrupted the Afghan plans, as incoming batters then started to struggle against attacking Sri Lankan bowlers.

Karim Janat also got out after scoring just 1 run. The decision to send him before Ibrahim Zadran backfired quickly. After losing back-to-back wickets, the Afghan team came under pressure. The Sri Lankan bowlers took advantage of this situation and squeezed their scoring rate.

Ibrahim Zadran tried to provide some stability in the middle, but he ran out of partners, as Darwish Rasooli and Azmatullah Omarzai didn’t contribute much. The duo fell cheaply to Dushmantha Chameera and Dasun Shanaka, as they kept things tight in the bowling.

However, the Afghanistan team got some late push from the experienced duo of Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi. Both batters analyzed the tough situation and batted smartly to take the game deep. Rashid Khan made 24 off 23 balls by smacking 2 fours and a six. He also didn’t look at his best, but still managed to build a little partnership to steady the batting innings.

The Afghan innings, however, got the impetus it wanted by the late hitting of Mohammad Nabi. He went berserk at the end of the innings by hitting 5 sixes to Dunith Wellalage in the last over. This completely changed the complexion of the innings, as all the hard work done by Sri Lankan bowlers went into vain.

The furious last-over hitting of Mohammad Nabi gave Afghanistan a strong total of 169 at Abu Dhabi. His innings could now prove to be a match-winning performance for Afghanistan, should they defend the score successfully in the 2nd innings.