The men’s cricket event in the ongoing Asian Games in Hangzhou, China got underway on September 27, 2023, as Nepal took on Mongolia in the first match at the Zhejiang University of Technology Cricket Field.
Mongolia captain Luvsanzundui Erdenebulgan won the toss and chose to bowl first. Nepal lost their first two wickets relatively early as Kushal Bhurtel made 19 and Aasif Sheikh made 16 runs.
But then Kushal Malla hammered the fastest century in T20Is in 34 balls and made 137* in 50 balls with 8 fours and 12 sixes. Captain Rohit Paudel made 61 in 27 balls as well.
But the most jaw-dropping innings came from Dipendra Singh Airee who hammered 8 sixes in the 10 balls he faced and made 52* in 10 balls. He reached his fifty in just 9 balls, breaking the record of Yuvraj Singh’s 12-ball half-century, the fastest ever in T20Is.
Nepal posted 314/3 in 20 overs, the first-ever 300-plus score in T20I cricket. In response, Mongolia was bundled out for 41 runs and lost the match by 273 runs.
Here are all the eight sixes Airee hit in his 10-ball 52*:
