Bodybuilding attracted Gulbadin Naib’s attention during his childhood instead of cricket. Arnold Schwarzenegger the Hollywood strongman served as his role model.
After moving to cricket Naib advanced through the levels until he became instrumental in Afghanistan’s dramatic ascent to international prominence despite ongoing conflict.
During Wednesday night’s match at Dubai’s renowned ‘Ring of Fire’, the 33-year-old batting all-rounder played a key role in the action.
When the Dubai Capitals began their chase of 190 against the Desert Vipers during Qualifier 1 of the ILT20 they lost their initial wicket in the seventh over despite starting well.
Naib joined the match at 51 for one runs and finished the game while his team required one run from the final delivery which led to Lockie Ferguson sustaining an injury and exiting the field.
The Zimbabwean batter Sikandar Raza maintained his composure to end the match with a brilliant four against Mohammad Amir who delivered the final ball after Lockie Ferguson’s injury.
The Capitals secured their spot in Sunday’s final after Raza celebrated his match-winning boundary with an air punch during the thrilling last-ball victory by five wickets.
Naib became the Dubai team’s hero while they were without their star player David Warner who suffered a back injury.
Naib showed excellent control of his innings to secure a hard-earned win for the Capitals with his score of 62 from 39 balls that included seven fours and one six.
The fearless Afghan batter achieved his fourth half-century of this campaign and now aims to deliver another substantial performance in Sunday’s match finale at the identical venue.
The Vipers who topped the table reached 189 for seven in 20 overs after Alex Hales scored an impressive 67 runs from 32 balls.
Sam Billings (38 off 16 balls) along with opener Adam Rossington (44 off 31 balls) and Rovman Powell (20 off 13 balls) contributed solid innings but Naib earned man-of-the-match honors after taking two important wickets and three catches.
Your past good performances stay in your mind and you draw from them. Naib recalled his previous two half-centuries during league encounters against the Vipers as he spoke about his performance.
“I can play at any position. Number three now is my lucky number. I have experience opening the batting which allows me to play anywhere in the lineup.
Dubai hosted many of our cricket matches. The match generated intense pressure but I thrive when facing pressure games. With the ball, I used the surface. I used my variations a lot.”
Captain Ferguson of the Vipers team stated that evening dew created difficulties for his bowlers when defending the total.
“It was a tough night. The New Zealander described it as a good cricket match but noted that evening dew made it challenging for their team.
We had bad luck because we didn’t win the match. The score achieved was excellent but this is the nature of T20 cricket.
The Eliminator match between Sharjah Warriorz and defending champions MI Emirates will take place on Thursday.
The team that wins this match will compete against Desert Vipers in Qualifier 2 on Friday to secure their spot against Dubai Capitals in the Sunday final match.
Brief scores:
Dubai Capitals beat Desert Vipers by five wickets
Desert Vipers 189/7 in 20 overs (Alex Hales 67, Max Holden 36, Dan Lawrence 35, Gulbadin Naib 2 for 25, Qais Ahmad 2 for 29)
Dubai Capitals 193/5 in 20 overs (Gulbadin Naib 62, Adam Rossington 44, Sam Billings 38, Lockie Ferguson 2 for 32, David Payne 1 for 31)