SL vs AFG | Twitter in awe of ageless Nabi's impeccable judgement to bag tough catch at boundary
In any sport, experience is worth its weight in gold and the veteran players are entrusted to lead by example in crunch moments. One such instance was witnessed in the World Cup game between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan when Mohammad Nabi displayed his guile to latch onto a difficult catch.
Coming off the back of two wins, Afghanistan decided to field first in the encounter against Sri Lanka in Pune. They drew first blood in the sixth over, following which the Sri Lankan batters stitched together valuable partnerships to put themselves in a good position at 131/2 after 27 overs. However, their Asian counterparts bounced back in style to eventually bowl out the opposition to 241. While the bowling unit put up a brilliant performance, Nabi’s sensational catch created a lot of buzz on the internet as well.
In the fag end of the innings, Angelo Mathews was trying to take the Afghan bowlers to the cleaners in order to propel the Lions to a good total. On the third ball of the 49th over, the former Sri Lankan captain tried to dispatch Fazalhaq Farooqi for a maximum but failed to middle the slower ball as he would have liked. Despite being outfoxed, the sheer power behind the shot meant it soared high in the night sky and was comfortably heading over the boundary ropes. However, Nabi at long-on got underneath the ball Kookaburra and displayed incredible judgement to grab the catch, maintaining his balance just millimeters away from the boundary.
The legendary Afghan cricketer’s magnificent grab caught the attention of a lot of fans on social media with many taking to Twitter to heap praise on the 38-year-old.
What a Catch
— Shamsi sinha (@SSinha23546) October 30, 2023
Gone!!
Mathews GONEE!!! 😱#AFGvsSL #RashidKhan #Gurbaz #Shanaka #RohitSharma #Mujeeb #KusalMendis #Nissanka #IshaMalviya #India #BiggBoss17 #Nabi #Naveen #StarSports #ElvishYadav #BabarAzam #Abhisha #Abhiya #Pakistan #ViratKohli #matthewperry #SLvsAFG #CWC23 https://t.co/F832oRjKSh
— 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗮𝗶𝗯 (@shoaibkhanxz) October 30, 2023
Near the line
What a catch! on boundary line by Mohammad Nabi #AFGvsSL pic.twitter.com/8sdgx8ioKl
— Mrinal Sarkar (@Mrinal_zephyr) October 30, 2023
Nabi nailed it
What a catch by NABI#CWC23 #CWC23INDIA #ShameOnYouZakaAshraf #BabarAzamIsMyCaptain #BabarAzam #SLvAFG pic.twitter.com/WRPv7aBfnv
— Faizy (@its_Faize42) October 30, 2023
Good work
#cricket #ODIWorldCup2023 #AFGvSL Matthews holes out for 23 off Fazalhaq Farooqi - good work by Mohammad Nabi to hold the catch. SL 239-9 with eight balls to go.
— Thomas Sutcliffe (@aspitweets) October 30, 2023
Blinder of catch
Muhammed Nabi what a blinder of catch on the boundary line truly mesmerizing!!#SLvAFG #CWC23
— @mauryan banters (@maurya76) October 30, 2023
Six or wicket
HOLY SHIT Nabi’s catch on the rope! I thought Mathews for sure had six there
— André Brett (@DrDreHistorian) October 30, 2023
Great catch
Nabi's catch to dismiss Mathews shows the sight screen can help you catch the ball as well as hit it.#AfgvSL #WC2023
— Arthur_S (@allanholloway) October 30, 2023
One of the best
Mohammad Nabi what a catch 🥵 pic.twitter.com/4U6wmligzi
— Abhishek (@Abhi_Kohli123) October 30, 2023
Mathews caught
SL 239/9 (48.3)
— parth stark (@randomtwee__t) October 30, 2023
48.3
Fazalhaq Farooqi to Mathews, out Caught by Nabi!! Mathews c Nabi b Fazalhaq Farooqi 23(26) [4s-1 6s-1] #SLvsAFG #JaspritBumrah #MohammedShami #AFGvsSL #KuldeepYadav #INDvsENG #IndiaVsEngland pic.twitter.com/GtoTpn989A