HANGZHOU (AFP): 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 Mongolia at the Asian Games.
They bludgeoned 314-3 in their 20 overs in Hangzhou, beating the previous highest of 278-3 by Afghanistan against Ireland in 2019.
Kushal Malla, batting number three, led the way by crashing the fastest T20 international century, off 34 balls.
Malla beat the previous quickest, by South African David Miller in 35 balls against Bangladesh in 2017, and went on to finish on 137 not out off just 50 balls. 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.
But it was Dipendra Singh Airee who finished the innings in ridiculous fashion against the hapless Mongolian bowlers, hitting a scarcely believable eight sixes in an unbeaten 52 off 10 balls.
He reached his fifty off nine balls, another world record, beating India's Yuvraj Singh's 2007 effort against England which took 12 balls.
Nepal's 26 sixes in the innings was also a record, beating Afghanistan's 22 against Ireland.
Mongolia, whose women's team were bowled out for just 15 last week in the Asian Games, were dismissed for just 41.
Nepal's winning margin of 273 runs was the biggest in terms of runs ever in a T20 international.
It beat the Czech Republic's 257-run margin against Turkey in 2019. - AFP
