Nepal Defeats Malaysia by 167 Runs in Asian Games Qualifier

Kathmandu. Nepal achieved a massive victory over Malaysia by 167 runs in their second match of the Asian Games Men's Qualifier 2026. The match was held in Singapore on Thursday.

Chasing a target of 276 runs set by Nepal, Malaysia could only manage 108 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in their allotted 20 overs.

Malaysia's captain Syed Aziz played a half-century inning but couldn't save his team from defeat. He scored 54 runs off 45 balls with the help of 6 fours and 2 sixes.

Sarvin Munaianndi scored 18 runs and opener Muhammad Haaziq Aiman scored 13 runs. Other batsmen could not score in double figures.

Sher Malla took 3 wickets for just 14 runs in 4 overs to restrict Malaysia to a low score. Kushal Malla, Sandeep Lamichhane, Sompal Kami, Dipendra Singh Airee, and Karan KC took 1 wicket each.

Earlier, Nepal, after losing the toss and batting first, scored 275 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in their 20 overs. Openers Kushal Bhurtel and Asif Sheikh gave Nepal a explosive start. The duo, who scored a record 95 runs in the powerplay, built a century partnership at a rapid pace.

This is Nepal's highest score in the powerplay in any T20 International match. Previously, Nepal had scored 82 runs in the 2023 Asian Games.

Before getting out in the ninth over, Sheikh scored 68 runs off just 24 balls. He hit 5 fours and 7 sixes in the process.

Bhurtel, on the other hand, managed to score his second consecutive and third overall century in his T20 International career. He contributed 126 runs off just 54 balls. He hit 14 fours and 8 sixes.

He also became the highest run-scorer for Nepal in T20 Internationals. Earlier, this record was held by Dipendra Singh Airee. Dipendra had set this record by scoring 2180 runs in 98 matches. Bhurtel managed to surpass this record in just 78 matches.

Sandeep Jora, who came in after Sheikh got out, scored 15 runs off 14 balls before returning to the pavilion. He hit 2 sixes.

Captain Dipendra Singh Airee batted explosively, scoring 31 runs off just 11 balls. He hit 1 four and 4 sixes. Lokesh Bam scored 10 runs off 6 balls with 2 fours.

Kushal Malla scored 9 runs and Karan KC scored 7 runs. Rohit Paudel was forced to return to the pavilion on the first ball.

For Malaysia, Binura Fernando took 3 wickets for 22 runs in 4 overs. Vijay Unni and Syed Aziz took 2 wickets each.

In Group A, Nepal had also achieved a record-breaking victory against China in their first match by setting a huge target. Nepal scored 313 runs for the loss of 2 wickets in their allotted 20 overs, while China was all out for 92 runs. The team won by a massive margin of 221 runs.