Mohammad Nabi became the first Afghan to score 6000 international runs, hitting 60 off 22 balls, including five sixes in the final over against Sri Lanka. His innings helped Afghanistan post 169, with a win crucial for Super 4s qualification in Asia Cup 2025.
Mohammad Nabi etched his name in the history books by becoming the first Afghanistan cricketer to cross the 6000-run mark in international cricket. The 40-year-old veteran achieved the milestone during the must-win Asia Cup 2025 group-stage clash against Sri Lanka in Sheikh Zayed Stadium at Abu Dhabi.
Needing just three runs to reach the landmark, Nabi completed the feat with a single off the first ball of the 15th over, bowled by Sri Lanka’s former captain Dasun Shanaka. With that run, he added another feather to his illustrious cap. His international tally now stands at 6057 runs from 315 matches. His contributions span across formats, 33 runs in three Test matches, 3667 runs in 173 ODIs, and 2357 runs in 139 T20Is. He remains Afghanistan’s highest run-scorer in T20Is and is second only in the ODI run charts for the country.
Most runs for Afghanistan in international cricket
| Player | Runs |
| Mohammad Nabi | 6057 |
| Rahmat Shah | 4948 |
| Mohammad Shahzad | 4844 |
| Asghar Afghan | 4246 |
| Najibullah Zadran | 3890 |
Nabi smacks five sixes in final over vs Sri Lanka
The Professor, as he is popularly known, Nabi smacked in the final over of the clash against Sri Lanka. Afghanistan needed a strong finish to the contest and the all-rounder delivered that, scoring 32 runs in the last over. Courtesy of his blistering knock of 60 runs off 22 balls, Afghanistan posted a defendable total of 169 runs in the first innings.
Notably, Thursday’s game against Sri Lanka held added importance for Afghanistan. A win would secure them a place in the Super 4s stage alongside Bangladesh from Group B, based on a superior net run rate. However, a defeat would knock them out and allow Sri Lanka to progress instead.
Bangladesh have already completed their group fixtures, winning two of three matches, but their net run rate remains lower than both Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, leaving qualification to hinge entirely on the result of this final group-stage encounter.