[Saba Sports News] The opening match of the Asian Games Men’s T20I cricket event in 2023 featured Nepal taking on Mongolia in Hangzhou, China, on September 27. Mongolia chose to bowl first after winning the toss.
Nepal, fresh from their maiden Asia Cup campaign, had a steady start, with their openers adding 42 runs in the first five overs. Kushal Malla and captain Rohit Paudel then accelerated, forging a stunning 193-run partnership in just 65 balls.
Malla achieved the fastest T20I century in just 34 balls, breaking the previous record held by Rohit Sharma and David Miller (35 balls each). Malla remained unbeaten with 137 off 50 balls, including eight fours and 12 sixes.
Nepal set several records in the match. After Paudel’s entertaining 61 off 27 balls, Dipendra Singh Airee achieved the fastest T20I fifty in terms of balls, taking just nine balls to reach his half-century. He broke Yuvraj Singh’s 16-year-old record of a 12-ball fifty. Airee finished unbeaten on 52 off 10 balls, partnering with Malla for a 55-run partnership off 11 balls.
Nepal posted a massive 314/3 in their 20 overs, the highest T20I total, surpassing Afghanistan’s previous record of 278/3 against Ireland in 2019. Paudel’s team hit 26 sixes in their innings, breaking the previous record of 22 sixes set by Afghanistan.
Chasing the formidable target, Mongolia was bowled out for just 41 runs in 13.1 overs, resulting in Nepal’s victory by a staggering 273 runs, marking the largest margin of victory in T20I cricket history.