During the ODI World Cup 2023 win for Afghanistan against Sri Lanka by seven wickets, Mohammad Nabi took a brilliant catch on the boundary to get Angelo Mathews dismissed late in their bowling innings. The former captain of the Afghanistan cricket team has been an unsung hero in the ongoing edition of the flagship tournament to help his national team go from strength to strength in India in the last few weeks.
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The Mohammad Nabi catch, happened on the third ball of the 49th over of the Sri Lankan innings, when Angelo Mathews spooned a slower ball from Fazalhaq Farooqi in the air. The 38-year-old, who was fielding at the long-on boundary, steadied himself under the high ball to grab hold of it, while keeping his balance to not make contact with the rope nearby.
Watch the video of Mohammad Nabi taking the brilliant catch to dismiss Angelo Mathews here:
Notably, the batting performance from Sri Lanka was way below par, getting bundled out for 241 in the final over of the innings, on a very good pitch for batters at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, with Fazalhaq Farooqi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman picking up four and two wickets respectively. Pathum Nissanka top scored for the Lankans with just 46 runs, while their two other in-form batters, the captain Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama got themselves out in the 30s.
In pursuit of a 242-run target, Afghanistan had a tough start when their in-form opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz got castled for zero off the bowling of Dilshan Madushanka. But then, the likes of captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai scored undefeated fifties to take their team over the line in just under 46 overs, after Rahmat Shah and Ibrahim Zadran got them out of early trouble.