Nepal's Dipendra Singh smashes 9-ball fifty against Mongolia in Asian Games 2023, breaks Yuvraj Singh's long-standing record
Nepal's Dipendra Singh Airee smashed a nine-ball fifty in the opening encounter of the men's cricket event at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou on Wednesday.
He scored an unbeaten 52-run knock off just 10 deliveries, bringing up his fifty in just nine balls. That bettered the previous record, held by Yuvraj Singh, by three deliveries.
The former India all-rounder scored a 12-ball fifty in a T20 World Cup 2007 encounter against England.
Dipendra Singh's cameo proved to be the perfect end for Nepal as they amassed a mammoth total of 314-3. He began his innings with five consecutive sixes, racing off to 30 runs off just five deliveries, before a double broke his momentum a bit. He proceeded to hit three more consecutive sixes to bring up his fifty and etch a new record.
The Rohit Paudel-led side were progressing at a steady rate at the beginning and were placed at 66-2 in the eighth over before the batters changed gears.
Kushal Malla scored the fastest T20I century in history by bringing up the three-figure mark in just 34 deliveries. The previous record was off 35 balls, held jointly by Rohit Sharma and David Miller.
Malla ended up unbeaten on 137 runs off 50 deliveries, with the help of eight fours and 12 sixes.
The duo of Dipendra Singh and Kushal Malla added 55 runs for the fourth wicket off just 11 deliveries, enabling Nepal to become the first team to cross the 300-run mark in T20Is.
Dipendra Singh represented Nepal in the 2023 Asia Cup as well
Dipendra Singh Airee was recently seen in the 2023 Asia Cup, where Nepal made their maiden appearance. They were slotted in Group A alongside India and Pakistan but failed to progress into the Super Fours stage following successive defeats to the heavyweights.
Dipendra was dismissed for just three runs in the opening clash against Pakistan. However, he scored a quickfire 29-run cameo in the subsequent clash against India.
Nepal have been slotted with Mongolia and Maldives in the group stages of the men's cricket event at the 2023 Asian Games.
It is to be noted that India have secured a berth in the quarter-finals already, and their campaign will begin from October 3 onwards.
Will the record of a nine-ball T20I fifty be broken in the future? Let us know what you think.