Kushal Malla smashes fastest-ever T20I century in history during Asian Games 2023
Nepal batter Kushal Malla re-wrote the cricketing record books by smashing the fastest T20I century off just 34 deliveries in the Asian Games 2023 opener against Mongolia. The record was previously held by Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and South African big hitter David Miller, having reached the landmark in 35 balls.
While Rohit achieved the feat against Sri Lanka in 2017, Miller had done it two months earlier against Bangladesh.
At just 19, Kushal flayed the Mongolian bowlers for eight boundaries and 12 maximums in his unbeaten 137 off 50 deliveries. The fastest century is one of several records Nepal broke during their earth-shattering performance.
Kushal Malla's teammate Dipendra Singh butchered his way to the fastest T20I half-century off just nine balls. He broke the record set by Yuvraj Singh against England in the 2007 World Cup.
Nepal also became the first-ever team to score over 300 in a T20I innings, finishing on a staggering 314/3 in 20 overs.
To cap off an unbelievable showing, the Nepal bowlers matched the batters by bowling out Mongolia for a mere 41 in the 14th over. It meant that Nepal also set the record for the margin of victory by an incredible 273 runs.
The result almost confirms Nepal's qualification from Group A to the quarter-finals despite having another game against the Maldives to round off their group stage.
A glance at Kushal Malla's career so far
Kushal Malla is one of the upcoming stars of Nepal cricket. The batting all-rounder made his debut in international cricket at just 15 against Zimbabwe in September 2019.
Kushal also made his ODI debut the following year against the USA and scored a 50, making him the youngest male player to score an international half-century. The 19-year-old was also the youngest to record a half-century in T20Is. He achieved the feat in the 2020-21 Nepal Tri-Nation Series final against the Netherlands.
He played against Pakistan and India in the recently concluded Asia Cup but did not make much of an impression. He scored just nine runs and no wickets in the two games.
Nevertheless, Kushal boasts impressive T20I numbers in such a young career, with an average of 35.55 and a strike rate of over 180 in 16 games. He has also picked up six wickets at an average of 20.16.
The left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder also has an average of over 25 and a strike rate of over 100 with the bat in 29 ODIs while grabbing 18 wickets with the ball.