Namibia batter Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton struck a 33-ball hundred against Nepal to claim the record for hitting the fastest century in the T20I format on Tuesday.
During the ongoing Tri-Nation T20I series, Loftie-Eaton arrived at the crease when Namibia were reduced to 62/3 in the 11th over. His arrvial saw boundaries raining throughout the TU Cricket Ground.
The flurry of boundares that came from his bat saw Namiba’s score reach a mamoth total of 206/4.
The 22-year-old was backed by Malan Kruger, as both batters added 135 off 52 balls to help Namibia reach a strong total. Loftie-Eaton’s record-breaking kncok was brought to an end by right-arm pacer Abinash Bohara.
During his fastest ton, he scored eleven fours and eight sixes and reached 101 off just 36 deliveries. Notably, the record for the previous fastest century was held by Nepal’s Kushal Malla. The 19-year-old struck a ton in 34 balls against Mongolia last year.
South Africa’s David Miller, India skipper Rohit Sharma and Czech Republic batter Sudesh Wick-ramasekara have managed to score a ton each in 35 balls.
In reply, Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel (42), Malla (32) and Dipendra Singh Airee (48) fought valiantly to chase down the mamoth total but still ended up falling short of the target by 20 runs.
While defending the total of 207, Loftie-Eaton was effective with the ball, as well as he claimed two wickets while spilling away 29 runs in his three over spell.
He claimed wickets of skipper Paudel who was looking dangerous throughout his chase. Sundeep Jora became his second victim of the night with a score of 5.—Agencies
