An unbeaten century by Mohammad Nabi (108 not out: 173b, 9x4, 5x6) led Afghanistan's strong reply on the second day of the four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup match against United Arabd Emirates at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Thursday.Afghanistan ended the second day's play at a healthy 242 for three in reply to UAE's first innings score of 462.Resuming at its overnight score of 361 for eight, the UAE tail wagged a little longer than what Afghanistan would have hoped for.The last two wickets of UAE added in all 107 runs as Afghanistan struggled to dislodge them.Amjad Javed (76: 90b, 7x4, 3x6) led the charge for UAE. He added 105 runs for the ninth wicket with Ahmed Raza (46: 72b, 6x4, 1x6).Mohammad Nabi picked up the last two wickets to end UAE's resistance, but Afghanistan had a lot of hard work to do to stay alive in the contest.Afghanistan lost couple of early wickets and slipped to 30 for two. It seemed like a major struggle from thereon.But young opener Javed Ahmadi (80: 165b, 13x4, 1x6) added 127 runs for the third wicket with Mohammad Nabi. The partnership had reached 157 for two when Ahmadi was snapped up by Fayyaz Ahmed (3/86).Towards the end of the day's play, Nabi added a further 85 runs for the fourth wicket with wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad (37 not out) to ensure Afghanistan did not suffer any further damage.With just two days to go in the match, Afghanistan needs to push for a first innings lead to ensure that it takes maximum points
