Highest T20I score, fastest T20I hundred, fastest T20I fifty: Nepal shatter records in Asian Games 2023 opening match against Mongolia
Nepal created a mockery of T20I records in the opening match of the men’s cricket competition at the Asian Games 2023 against Mongolia at the Pingfeng Campus Cricket Field in Hangzhou on Wednesday.
They smashed the record for the highest-ever T20I team total, scoring 314/3 in 20 overs. Kushal Malla and Dipendra Singh Airee also broke the records for the fastest T20I hundred and fastest T20I fifty, getting to the landmarks in 34 and 9 balls, respectively.
Mongolia won the toss and opted to bowl first in the Group A match of the Asian Games Men’s T20I 2023. They were made to rue the decision as Nepal’s batters went absolutely berserk. Openers Aasif Sheikh (16 off 17) and Kushal Bhurtel (19 off 23) could not convert their starts.
Malla (137* off 50) and skipper Rohit Paudel (61 off 27) then featured in a 193-run stand for the third wicket, which is also a record for the highest third-wicket stand in T20Is, surpassing 184 by Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips for New Zealand against West Indies in 2020.
Paudel struck two fours and six sixes before being dismissed by Mungun Altankhuyag. Malla and Dipendra (52* off 10) then featured in an unbroken 55-run stand for the fourth wicket.
With his 34-ball hundred, Malla surpassed the trio of David Miller, Rohit Sharma, and Sudesh Wickramasekara, who are the joint record holders for the fastest T20I hundred - 35 balls.
Dipendra needed only nine balls to race to his T20I fifty, breaking Yuvraj Singh’s record for fastest T20I half-century - 12 balls. While Malla slammed eight fours and 12 sixes in his innings, Dipendra’s unbeaten knock featured eight sixes and not a single four.
Nepal break 300-run barrier in T20Is
With a total of 314/3, Nepal also became the first team to cross the 300-run mark in T20Is. The previous record for highest team total in T20Is was held by Afghanistan who smashed 278/3 against Ireland in Dehradun in February 2019.
Chasing a mammoth target of 315, Mongolia were rolled over for 41 in 13.1 overs with Karan KC, Abinash Bohara, and Sandeep Lamichhane claiming two wickets each.
Nepal’s 273-run triumph is also a record for the largest margin of victory by runs in T20Is, the previous best being 257 runs for the Czech Republic against Turkey in August 2019.