Afghanistan legend Mohammad Nabi rescued his nation from a troubled situation in the first innings in their must-win group stage game against the defending champions Sri Lanka (T20 Asia Cup) in the Asia Cup 2025. During his stormy batting performance, the right-handed middle-order batter created history for his nation by equalling a record.

In their must-win game to qualify for the Super Fours, Afghanistan chose to bat first after winning the toss. However, they were losing wickets at regular intervals, as they were once struggling at 114/7 in the 18th over. Afghanistan were struggling at 137/7 in 19 overs, as a 150+ target was still very hard to achieve.

See Also: Azmatullah Omarzai dismisses dangerous Pathum Nissanka during SL vs AFG clash in Asia Cup 2025

Mohammad Nabi hit five sixes in final over

However, Mohammad Nabi was in the mood as he guided the team to 169/8 in 20 overs with 32 runs in the final over, including five sixes in consecutive legal deliveries. He completed his seventh T20I half-century in just 20 balls, which equalled the record of fastest T20I fifty by an Afghanistan batter. 

In their match against Hong Kong in the group stage of this Asia Cup 2025, Azmatullah Omarzai scored a 20-ball fifty to set a new record for the fastest T20I half-century for the country by breaking the joint record of 21-ball half-centuries. 

Fastest T20I fifties by an Afghanistan batter (by balls faced)

• 20 balls - Azmatullah Omarzai vs Hong Kong (Abu Dhabi, 2025)

• 20 balls - Mohammad Nabi vs Sri Lanka (Abu Dhabi, 2025)

• 21 balls - Mohammad Nabi vs Ireland (Greater Noida, 2017)

• 21 balls - Gulbadin Naib vs India (Bengaluru, 2024)

Mohammad Nabi slammed a 22-ball 60 with the help of three fours and six sixes, which helped Afghanistan to achieve a fighting total of 169/8 in 20 overs.