Nepal’s men’s cricket team made history at the ongoing Asian Games cricket tournament in Hangzhou, China as they smashed the highest-ever total in T20I cricket history, the fastest fifty and fastest century by a player in format’s history on Wednesday. Nepal batted first against Mongolia, who opted to field, and posted a mammoth 314 for 3 in 20 overs. This was the first time that any team had crossed the 300-run mark in a T20I match. The previous record for the highest innings total in a T20I was held by Afghanistan, who had amassed 278 for 3 against Ireland on February 23, 2019.
The star of the show for Nepal was Kushal Malla, a 19-year-old left-handed batter, who struck the fastest-ever T20I hundred in 34 balls, eclipsing David Miller and Rohit Sharma’s joint previous record (35 balls). Malla came in at No. 3 and unleashed a barrage of boundaries, hitting 12 sixes and eight fours to remain unbeaten on 137 off just 50 balls. His strike rate of 274 was also the highest for any batsman scoring a hundred or more in a T20I.
Malla was well supported by Dipendra Singh Airee, who also rewrote the record books by blasting a nine-ball fifty that bettered Yuvraj Singh’s 16-year-old record. Yuvraj had taken 12 balls for his fifty en route to scoring 58 in the World T20 match against England on September 19, 2007. Airee came in at No. 5 and smashed seven sixes and two fours to score an unbeaten 66 off just 15 balls. His strike rate of 440 was also the highest for any batsman scoring a fifty or more in a T20I.
The duo added an unbeaten 131 runs for the fourth wicket in just 5.4 overs, with an astonishing run rate of 23.11. They took the Mongolian bowlers to the cleaners, hitting them all over the park. The highest partnership for any wicket in a T20I was previously held by Aaron Finch and D’Arcy Short, who had added 223 runs for the opening wicket against Zimbabwe on July 3, 2018.
Nepal’s opening pair of Gyanendra Malla and Binod Bhandari also gave them a solid start, putting on 67 runs in 6.2 overs. Gyanendra Malla scored 32 off 18 balls, while Bhandari made 28 off 21 balls. The only wicket-taker for Mongolia was Ankhbayar Narantsogt, who took three wickets for 47 runs in his four overs.
In reply, Mongolia were never in the chase and were bowled out for just 36 runs in 11 overs, losing by a massive margin of 278 runs. This was also the biggest victory margin (by runs) in a T20I match. The previous record was held by Sri Lanka, who had beaten Kenya by 172 runs in the inaugural World T20 in South Africa on September 14, 2007.
The best bowler for Nepal was Karan KC, who took four wickets for six runs in his three overs. He was well supported by Sandeep Lamichhane, who took three wickets for nine runs in his four overs. The only batsman to reach double figures for Mongolia was Khaliunbold Bayarsaikhan, who scored 12 off nine balls.
With this win, Nepal topped their group with four points from two matches and qualified for the quarter-finals of the Asian Games cricket championship. They will face Oman in their next match on Friday. Mongolia finished at the bottom of their group with no points from two matches and were eliminated from the tournament.
This was a historic day for Nepal cricket and their fans, who witnessed their team break multiple world records and create history in Asian Games cricket. Nepal have shown that they are a force to reckon with in the shortest format of the game and have earned respect from cricket lovers around the world.
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