T20 World Cup: [WATCH] Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi dives full throttle at covers to get rid of Dawid Malan
Afghanistan skipper Mohammad Nabi capped off the first day of the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup with a spectacular catch against England at Perth. The star all-rounder dived full throttle to catch the ball and get rid of Dawid Malan, who departed for a sluggish 30-ball 18 with no boundaries.
The dismissal occurred in the 14th over when the left-hander Malan, wanting to break the shackles, drove hard through the covers. However, Nabi put a full-length dive and the ball was fortunate enough to stick in his hands to give Mujeeb Ur Rahman his first wicket of the tournament.
It also reduced England to 81-4 while chasing a modest total.
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Earlier, England's Liam Livingstone, Jos Buttler, and Adil Rashid also took sensational catches offered by Hazratullah Zazai, Nabi, and Najibullah Zadran respectively.
Mohammad Nabi fails with the bat as Sam Curran takes a fifer to restrict Afghanistan to 112
While the Afghan skipper took a spectacular catch, he managed to score only three runs with the bat before Mark Wood dismissed him. Left-arm seamer Sam Curran was the wrecker-in-chief for England, finishing with figures of 3.4-0-10-5, becoming the first Englishman to take a fifer in T20 World Cup history.
Ben Stokes and Mark Wood snared two each, while Chris Woakes picked up one as Afghanistan folded in 19.4 overs. However, the chase for England wasn't straightforward as Afghanistan's spinners made the opposition work for runs.
The trio of Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan took three wickets in their 11 overs for just 55 runs as the Asian nation dismissed five English batters.
What a performance, Sammy! 🖐
Scorecard: ms.spr.ly/6016dXjXM
#T20WorldCup | @CurranSM https://t.co/Tz7MMwAuFf
Liam Livingstone top-scored for England with 29 from 21 deliveries with three boundaries. The hard-hitting batter stayed till the end alongside Moeen Ali to finish the game, with 11 balls to spare.
The Three Lions will move on to Melbourne to face Ireland on Wednesday, while Afghanistan will lock horns with New Zealand on Wednesday on the same day at Perth.