Mohammad Nabi slams fastest-ever ODI half-century for Afghanistan: Key stats
Sri Lanka beat Afghanistan at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, to reach the Asia Cup 2023 Super Fours. The Afghans had to chase 292 before 37.1 overs to qualify for this stage. Mohammad Nabi's record-breaking half-century fueled their run-chase, but they fell two runs short eventually. Although Afghanistan got knocked out, Nabi entered the record books. Here are the key stats.
Nabi slams Afghanistan's fastest ODI fifty
Nabi's whirlwind knock kept Afghanistan's qualification hopes alive. He took on the Lankan bowlers, having smashed 6 fours and 5 sixes. Nabi hammered 65 off 32 balls and finished with a strike rate of 203.12. The right-handed batter smashed a 24-ball half-century, now the fastest for Afghanistan in ODI cricket. He broke the record of Mujeeb Ur Rahman (off 26 balls vs Pakistan, 2023).
Nabi's incredible strike rate
As mentioned, Nabi struck at an incredible 203.12, now the second-highest strike rate in an ODI Asia Cup innings. Notably, Pakistan's Shahid Afridi is the only other batter with a strike rate of over 200 in this regard (206.66 vs Bangladesh, Dambulla, 2010).
Nabi completes 3,100 ODI runs
During the knock, Nabi became just the second Afghan player to complete 3,100 runs in ODI cricket. Notably, Nabi is just one of two Afghanistan players with over 3,000 ODI runs. In 147 ODIs, he has racked up 3,153 runs at an average of 27.18. The one against Sri Lanka was his 16th half-century in ODI cricket. He strikes at 86.17 in the format.
Here's how the match panned out
Batting first, SL openers Pathum Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne added 63 runs. SL lost three quick wickets before Charith Asalanka and Kusal Mendis shared a 102-run stand. Dunith Wellalage and Maheesh Theekshana took SL to 291/8. Afghanistan were reduced to 50/3. Rahman Shah scored 45, while Nabi's quickfire 65 helped Afghanistan gain momentum. The chase was on, but SL won the dying moments.
