Nepal's 15-year-old Kushal Malla Becomes The Youngest To Hit A Fifty In ODIs

Nepal’s middle-order batsman Kushal Malla went down the record books, courtesy his maiden fifty against USA. The 15-year-old became the youngest cricketer to hit a fifty. Kusal was drafted into the side as a result of an injury to senior statesman Sharad Vesawkar.

Malla took guard at a crisis situation with the side four wickets down and only 47 runs on the board. They went on to lose yet another stick since adding mere two more runs to the sheet. In the company of Binod Bhandari, Kushal milked the bowling unit of the opposition side. The duo forged a 84-run stand in 14.3 overs for the sixth wicket.

Kushal Malla puts Nepal in the world map

The batter laced four boundaries and three sixes on his way to a 51-ball 50. On the other hand, Bhandari made good use of the opportunity and hit a strokeful 59, helping Nepal post 190 on the board. Previously, Kushal’s countryman Rohit Kumar Paudel held the record at 16 years and 146 days.

Kushal achieved the feat at 15 years and 340 days. Rohit’s sublime knock of 55 came against the UAE last year. Coming back to the game, Kushal’s heroics wasn’t just confined to batting. With the ball, the spinner got the wicket of 37-year-old Elmore Hutchinson. Interestingly, the age gap between the two reads 22 years. It was an historic occasion as Nepal registered their maiden win in ODIs. They sealed the game by a margin of 35 runs.

“We are blessed with lovely fans, not only here but lots are following online as well,” Malla told ESPN after the nation witnessed it’s maiden international game. “It’s good to see them applauding other opponents’ efforts. As the game grows up here in Nepal, slowly they are starting to catch up to the spirit of the game and the laws of the game, and they understand it better.”

With international cricket making a way into Nepal’s history, the country is ecstatic. Nepal skipper Gyanendra Malla, 29, thanked the support from the cricket fans across the globe and especially in his country. The senior Malla has played 8 ODIs and 24 games in the shortest format. He maintains an average of 20-plus across the two formats at the international circuit.