Kushal Malla Smashes 34-Ball Ton, Dipendra Singh Airee Hits 9-Ball Fifty As Nepal Posts Record Total Of 314 In Asian Games

Led by Kushal Malla’s record-breaking century, Nepal, on Wednesday (September 27), created history in the ongoing Asian Games 2023. Nepal were up against Mongolia in the very first game of the Men’s competition and turned the contest into a historic one.

Mongolia’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss turned into a nightmare as Nepal smashed a record total of 314 for 3 in the allotted 20 overs. They became the first team in the history of T20Is to touch the 300-run mark in the shortest format of the game.

The record of the highest total in T20Is was previously held by Afghanistan for their score of 278/3 against Ireland in 2019. The Czech Republic also registered a score of 278/4 against Turkey. Nepal have now gone past all the teams to register the highest-ever total in T20Is and also became the first-ever team to cross the 300-run mark in the 20-over format.

Kushal Malla and Dipendra Singh Airee smash historic knocks:

The architect of Nepal’s huge total was Kushal Malla who smashed the fastest century in the history of T20I cricket. Malla reached the triple-figure mark in just 34 balls, breaking the record of the fastest T20I century previously held by Rohit Sharma, David Miller, and Sudesh Wickramasekara.

They had scored the century in 35 balls, one ball more than what Malla took to achieve the feat. He remained not out on 137 off just 50 balls. The stunning knock was studded with 8 fours and 12 sixes.

Apart from Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee also scripted history by smashing the fastest half-century in the history of T20I cricket. He broke Yuvraj Singh’s long-standing record. While Yuvraj had scored a 12-ball fifty against England in 2007, Dipendra did it in just 9 balls with the help of 8 sixes. As far as Mongolia is concerned, only one of their bowlers managed to maintain an economy rate of less than 10 runs.