By a Staff Reporter
Hangzhou – Nepal achieved a remarkable world-record victory over Mongolia with a staggering 273-run win in the 19th Asian Games (ASIAD). Chasing a massive target of 315 runs, Mongolia faltered and were dismissed for a mere 41 runs in 13.1 overs.
This historic win now stands as the largest margin of victory in T20I history, eclipsing the previous record set in 2019 when the Czech Republic defeated Turkey by 257 runs. Dawasuren of Mongolia managed to score 10 runs from 23 balls with two fours, while the rest of the Mongolian batting lineup struggled to reach double figures.
Nepal’s Karan KC, Abhinash Bohra, and Sandeep Lamichhane took two wickets each, while Sompal Kami, Dipendra Singh Airee and Kushal Bhurtel took one wicket apiece.
Earlier, Nepal, having lost the toss, were put into bat first. Nepal went on to amass a historic total of 314 runs, marking the first time a 300+ run milestone had been reached in T20I history. Previously, the highest team total in T20Is was 278 runs, achieved by Afghanistan and the Czech Republic.
Kushal Malla played an unbeaten innings of 137 runs off just 50 balls, featuring eight fours and a staggering 12 sixes. Notably, he reached his century in a mere 34 balls, making him the fastest centurion in T20I history, surpassing the previous record of 35 balls.
India’s Rohit Sharma, South Africa’s David Miller, and the Czech Republic’s Sudesh Bikramshekhar had achieved centuries in 35 balls. In 2019, Nepal’s Paras Khadka had completed a 49-ball century against Singapore, while Kushal himself had scored a 59-ball century in ODIs against Oman.
Dipendra Singh Airee remained not out with a blistering 52 runs, powered by eight sixes from just ten balls— an innings that secured him the record for the fastest fifty in any form of the game. The previous record was held by Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh, who scored a fifty in 12 balls against England in the T20I World Cup in 2007.
Captain Rahit Poudel scored 61 runs off 27 balls, with two fours and six sixes. The partnership between Kushal Malla and Rohit Paudel, which yielded 193 runs for the third wicket, is now the highest partnership by a Nepali duo in any cricket match.
Rohit Paudel himself reached a half-century in just 19 balls. The opening pair of Nepal, Kushal Bhurtel and Asif Sheikh, put up scores of 16 runs off 23 balls with two fours and 16 runs off 17 balls with two fours, respectively.
Nepal will face Maldives in their final group-stage match on Sunday, with Maldives fielding a second-choice team due to their participation in the ICC T20 World Cup Asia Regional Qualifier A coinciding with ASIAD.
Nepal will encounter one of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the quarterfinals.
