Picture Credit: Twitter
Afghanistan kicked off their T20 World Cup campaign in a terrific style on Monday. From toss to every single moment in the game, the Afghans seized every moment on the ground. While their batters came out all guns blazing to put a mammoth total of the board after Mohammad Nabi opted to bat first, their bowlers also did a commendable job to keep Scotland out of the game.
Amidst all, what impressed everyone was a flying Mohammad Shahzad. The 33-year-old defied his age to put a valiant dive to his right to take a sensational catch in the game. The blinder came in the fifth over of Scotland's innings when new batter Matthew Cross edged a Naveen-ul-Haq delivery. The ball was pitched on good length and Cross tried to play it on the front foot. However, he lacked technique and played the ball too far from his body. Meanwhile, the bounce did rest to take an edge off his bat and travel somewhere towards first slip. For a moment, it felt like the ball would easily go for a four, however, a flying Shahzad suddenly appeared in the scene in no time and took a screamer from his right hand before falling on the ground.
Watch the catch here:
Afghanistan beat Scotland by 130 runs
The Mohammad Nabi-led side put up a dominant performance on Monday to win the game against Scotland by 130 runs. Mujeeb Ur Rahman took a fifer (5/20) while Rashid Khan was also impressive with his 4/9 as the Scotland batters had no answer for it. Naveen-ul-Haq claimed the other wicket as Scotland got bowled out for 60 runs in pursuit of a mammoth target of 191 runs in the stipulated 20 overs.
Batting first, Afghanistan had posted 190/4 in Sharjah. Najibullah Zadran top-scored for the side with a 59 off 34 while Rahmanullah Gurbaz's 46 off 37 also helped the side's cause. Mohammad Nabi also played a cameo of unbeaten 11 off 4 to see Afghanistan post the highest total in the ongoing T20 World Cup so far. For the Scottish Saltires, Safyaan Sharif (2/33) was the pick of the bowlers, while Josh Davey and Mark Watt claimed a wicket each.