History made: 09-ball half century in a T20I game

In the opening game of the men’s cricket event at the Asia Games 2023, Nepal’s middle-order batsman smashed a nine-ball fifty against Mongolia, breaking India’s left-handed batsman Yuvraj Singh’s record.

Nepal’s middle-order batsman – Dipendra Singh Airee – smashed a nine-ball half-century during an encounter with the Mongolian cricket team at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

He played an unbeaten 52-run innings in just 10 deliveries, brining his fifty in a mere nine balls, surpassed previous record holder Yuvraj Singh – the former Indian all rounder – who knocked his fifty in 12 balls during a T20 World Cup 2007 match against England.

Dipendra Sindh’s began his innings with five repeated sixes to race off to 30 runs in just five deliveries, he proceeded to smash three more consecutive sixes after a double and established a new record.

Nepal became the first men’s team in history to score more than 300 runs in T20 international cricket on Wednesday as they rewrote the record books against part-timers Mongolia at the Asian Games.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, they bludgeoned 314-3 in their 20 overs in Hangzhou, beating the previous highest of 278-3 by Afghanistan against Ireland in 2019.

Teenager Kushal Malla, batting number three, spearheaded the onslaught by crashing the fastest T20 international century, off 34 balls.

The 19-year-old’s whirlwind innings eclipsed the previous quickest held jointly by South African David Miller, India’s Rohit Sharma and the Czech Republic’s Sudesh Wickramasekara, who all took 35 balls.

Left-hander Malla, who made his Nepal debut when he was just 15, went on to finish on 137 not out off just 50 balls. It was his maiden T20 international century and he smacked 12 sixes and eight fours.

Nepal’s batsmen were rampant on a sunny morning at the Zhejiang University for Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field, captain Rohit Paudel creaming 61 off 27 balls with six sixes.