Records tumble as Nepal beats Mongolia in Asian Games Cricket

KATHMANDU: Nepal secured a commanding 273-run victory over Mongolia in the Asian Games Men’s Cricket Competition in Huangzhou, China, setting four world records in the process.

Batting first after losing the toss, Nepal put up an imposing total of 314 runs for the loss of only three wickets in the allotted 20 overs. This is the highest-ever score in any T20 international match, surpassing Afghanistan’s previous record of 278 against Scotland. Likewise, the 273-run victory was the largest margin victory (in terms of run) bettering a 257-run defeat that the Czech Republic handed to Turkey in 2019.

Kushal Malla was the star of the show, scoring a mammoth 137 runs off just 50 balls. Dipendra Singh Airee also played a crucial role, contributing 52 runs from a mere 10 balls. Malla set the record for the fastest T20 international century, reaching the milestone in just 34 balls. He broke the record of the fastest century in 35 balls held jointly by David Miller, Rohit Sharma and S Wickramasekara.

Airee, on the other hand, set the record for the fastest T20 international half-century, achieving the feat in just nine balls. The previous record of the fastest 50 in 12 balls was held jointly by Yuvraj Singh, Chrisy Gayle and Haratullah Zazai.

Captain Rohit Poudel chipped in with an impressive 61 runs from 27 balls, while openers Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh made contributions of 19 and 16 runs, respectively.

Chasing 315 runs to win, Mongolia’s innings folded for a meager 41 runs, including 23 extras, in just 13.1 overs. Apart from Davaasuren Jamyansuren, who scored 10 runs, none of the Mongolian batsmen reached double digits, with five dismissed for a duck.

Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane and Abinash Bohora took two wickets each for Nepal, while Sompal Kami, Dipendra Singh Airee and Kushal Bhurtel had a wicket each to their names.

Individual Records:

1. Dipendra Singh Airee is the first Nepali to hit seven 50-plus scores for Nepal.
2. Kushal Malla broke the record for the most runs scored in boundaries (104) in a T20 innings, surpassing Paras Khadka’s previous record of 82. He also set a new record for the most sixes in an innings (12), eclipsing Khadka’s nine.
3. Malla also achieved the highest individual score for Nepal in a T20 international match (137), surpassing Airee’s previous record of 110 runs.
4. Airee broke the record for the most sixes (42) in T20 internationals for Nepal, surpassing Kushal Malla’s previous record of 36.