Bhurtel hits successive tons as Nepal thump Malaysia by 167 runs

KATHMANDU: Kushal Bhurtel scored a second century in as many matches as Nepal defeated Malaysia by 167 runs in their second group-stage match of the 2026 Asian Games Qualifier in Singapore on Thursday.

Sent in to bat first after losing the toss, Nepal scored 275 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 20 overs. In reply, Malaysia folded for 108 runs, losing nine wickets.

Bhurtel earlier scored 129 from 43 balls in Nepal’s first group-stage match against China. With this ton, Bhurtel has become the top scorer for Nepal in T20I with 2,240 runs, going past Airee’s 2,211 runs.

He also scored a century in the WCL-2 match against the USA last month.

The opening pair of Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh gave Nepal a flying start with a 134-run stand in just 8.4 overs. Bhurtel got his century in just 44 balls and went on to score 126 runs in 54 balls. He struck 14 fours and eight towering sixes in his 126 runs in just 54 balls. Sheikh scored a 17-ball half-century and went on to get 68 off 24 balls. Although Sandeep Jora (15), Lokesh Bam (10) and Rohit Paudel (0) fell cheaply, Captain Dipendra Singh Airee entertained the crowd with a not-out 31 off 11 balls.

Virandeep Singh claimed three wickets for Malaysia, while Syed Aziz and Vijay Unni chipped in with two each.

Malaysia made a poor start with the bat in their chase of the mammoth total. Opener Aslam Khan fell for a duck, and their five batters were back in the hut by the eighth over with just 38 runs on the board. Syed Aziz offered some resistance with a 54 from 45 balls. Sharvin Muniandy (18) and opener Moahmmad Haziq Aiman were the only other Malaysian batters who reached double digits.

Sher Malla claimed three Malaysian wickets, while Karan KC, Sompal Kami, Sandeep Lamichhane, Airee and Kushal Malla chipped in with a wicket each.

Malaysia