Friday, Oct 07, 2011
Gulf News
Sharjah Mohammad Nabi led Afghanistan’s fight-back through a brilliant unbeaten century on the second day of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Intercontinental Cup four-day match at the Sharjah Cricket stadium yesterday.
Nabi, who has been Afghanistan’s consistent player for many years, had even played for MCC in England.
He drew up on his experience to handle the UAE bowling with elegance to hit 108 runs off 173 balls with nine boundaries and five sixers. Afghanistan, in reply to UAE’s total of 462 runs, are 242 for 3 by close. They are trailing by 220 runs with seven wickets in hand.
Nabi and Mohammad Shahzad, who is unbeaten on 37, have put on 85 runs for the fourth wicket. Incidentally, Nabi was instrumental for Afghanistan qualifying for the Twenty20 World Cup with brilliant knocks in the qualifiers.
He was also their leading wicket taker with his off break bowling.
Good support
UAE from their overnight total of 361 for 8 swelled their total to 462 runs to register a strong first innings total yesterday. Amjad Javed went on to hit 76 runs off 90 balls with three sixers and seven fours. He got good support from No.10 batsman Ahmed Raza (46) who has often played good knocks down the order.
Javed and Raza put on 105 runs in just 20.4 overs for the ninth wicket.
Nabi strikes
When it looked like Javed may hit a century, he got stumped off Mohammad Nabi. Raza too looked set to become the sixth UAE batsman to hit a half century when Nabi struck again to have him caught by substitute Gulbodin Naib for 46 runs.
Raza’s knock came off 72 balls with six fours and one six.
Afghanistan lost an early wicket when slow left-arm spinner Fayyaz Ahmed had opener Karim Sadiq clean bowled for 13 runs.
Two balls later Ahmed also picked the valuable wicket of inform Afghanistan skipper Nowroz Mangal, caught by UAE skipper Khurram Khan for a duck.
Opener Javed Ahmadi and Mohammad Nabi took control over the innings. They put on 127 runs in 40.1 over to set the stage for a good fight back.
Ahmadi became another Ahmad victim when Shoaib Sarwar caught him for 80. Nabi went on to score his century with Mohammad Shahzad as his partner.
icc cup
Brief scores
UAE first inning 462 in 117.1 overs. (Bakthiyar Palekar 76, Swapnil Patil 61, Khurram Khan 52, Amjad Ali 49, Vikrant Shetty 57, Amjad Javed 76, Ahmad Raza 46, Dawlat Zadran 4 for 98, Mohammad Nabi 2 for 79, Samiullah Shenwari 2 for 97)
Afghanistan first innings 242 for 3 in 74 overs (Javed Ahmadi 80, Mohammad Nabi 108n.o, Mohammad Shahzad 37n.o, Fayyaz Ahmad 3 for 86).
By K.R. Nayar?Chief Cricket Writer
Gulf News 2011. All rights reserved.
