Home » Sports news » AFG vs SL, Asia Cup 2025: Mohammad Nabi enters an elite group with this record
AFG vs SL, Asia Cup 2025: Mohammad Nabi enters an elite group with this record
Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi scored a rapid 60 runs off just 22 balls against Sri Lanka, making him the third-oldest player from an ICC full-member country to achieve a T20I fifty after the age of 40.
Koushik Biswas
Sep 18, 2025
Image | @CricCrazyJohns on X
Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi created a remarkable record during his rapid 60 runs from just 22 balls against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi at the Asia Cup 2025. At 40 years and 260 days old, he has now become the third-oldest player from an ICC full-member country to score a T20I fifty.
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What happened?
Mohammad Nabi smashed a 22-ball 60 to help Afghanistan put a fighting 169/8 in the must-win match against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup. From 114/7, it was his record-breaking inning that helped Afghanistan reach the highest total of the Asia Cup 2025 so far.
Nabi did not start off smoothly. He managed just five runs from his first six balls, but then shifted gears and scored 55 from his next 16 deliveries.
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During his onslaught, Nabi went on to hit five sixes in the first five balls of the final over by Dunith Wellalage. Wellalage’s 32-run over is now the second most expensive over by a Sri Lankan bowler in T20Is, right behind 36 by Akila Dananjaya when Kieron Pollard had hit him for six sixes in Antigua in 2021.
Nabi’s 20-ball half-century is also the joint-fastest T20I fifty by an Afghanistani batter in international cricket.
Read Also: AFG vs SL, Asia Cup 2025: Mohammad Nabi’s 60 from 22 takes Afghanistan to 169/8
Nabi joins an elite group
Before Nabi’s sensational innings, the list of players who accomplished the feat of scoring a T20I fifty after turning 40 was exceedingly exclusive.
Chris Gayle tops this unique batting club with an unforgettable 67 against Australia at Gros Islet in 2021, aged 41 years and 294 days.
The second batter on this list is Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez, who scored an unbeaten 99 against New Zealand in Hamilton back in 2020 at 40 years and 64 days old.
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