Sharjah, March 13
After winning the 3rd ODI against Ireland by 117 runs at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Tuesday, Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi lauded Mohammad Nabi following his all-round performance in the match.
Nabi scored 48 runs off 62 balls with the help of three boundaries. Then the off-spinner emerged as the highest wicket-taker for the side. The former Afghanistan skipper grabbed five wickets in his spell of 10 overs where he conceded just 17 overs and bowled three maiden overs. The 39-year-old was awarded the Player of the Match for his outstanding performance.
The Afghanistan skipper congratulated the team and stated that he was very happy with their performance in the ODI series.
"Very happy about the performance of the team and congratulate my team for the win. Stirling and Campher both of them were playing very good. When I was batting it was not easy and I trusted my spinners and they did the job. It was the critical partnership as we lost back to back wickets and unluckily Azmat got run out. We were discussing to take it deep and let's make it to the 45th over," Shahidi said in the post-match presentation.
The 29-year-old further spoke about Nabi and stated that he is an amazing player and he always contributes to the team whether it's batting, bowling, or fielding.
"That was the first ODI pitch, while our batting also it was slower and the ball was not coming onto the bat. There was support but our spin bowlers put in the right areas. He is an amazing player and as a senior guy, he is 40 years old I think and he always contributes in batting and bowling, while fielding also, what can I say about him! He is an inspiration while fielding as well," the cricketer added.
Recapping the match, Nabi's five-wicket haul helped Afghanistan clinch a 117-run win over Ireland in the 3rd ODI at Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah on Tuesday. Hashmatullah Shahidi's Afghanistan also sealed a series win by 2-0, after securing victory in the first and final 50-over match. The second ODI match of the series was abandoned after rain played spoilsport.
After winning the toss, Paul Stirling's side decided to send the Afghan squad to bat first. However, their decision did not go in their favour as Ireland's bowling attack failed to perform well. Gurbaz (51 runs from 53 balls) and Ibrahim Zadran (22 runs from 31 balls) opened for Afghanistan and had a partnership of 62 runs, which helped the hosts to get a fiery start in the game. At the end of the first innings, Mohammad Nabi (48 runs from 62 balls) played a crucial role and powered Afghanistan's total to 236/9.
During the run chase, Andrew Balbirnie (1 run from 8 balls) and skipper Stirling (50 runs from 53 balls) failed to have a crucial partnership and lead Ireland to chase the target of 237 runs. However, Stirling played a captain's knock but his half-century went in vain even after hitting 4 fours and 2 sixes.
Gurbaz was crowned the 'Player of the Series' after he ended the series as the highest run scorer with 172 runs at an average of 86.00.