Indian opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal has become the youngest T20I centurion as he reached the milestone against Nepal, aged 21 in the Asian Games 2023 fixture on Tuesday. The left-handed batter reached the milestone in the 16th over of the chase by tucking a single on the on-side and kissed his helmet in celebration.
Jaiswal made a blistering start to his innings, hitting consecutive sixes in the 2nd over of the innings bowled by Karan KC and subsequently reached his half-century off only 22 deliveries. The southpaw kept accelerating before Ruturaj Gaikwad as Nepal got some respite, breaking the 104-run opening stand.
Eventually, the 48-ball century in the 15th over has now become the joint fourth-fastest T20I century by an Indian's men's batter. The 21-year-old perished in the very next over, holing out to the short third man fielder. Nevertheless, Rinku Singh produced some fireworks of his own to propel India to 202 in 20 overs.
Nepal fall short by 23 runs despite a spirited display:
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Meanwhile, Nepal tried their best in what required some epic proportions of power-hitting to chase down a mammoth 203. Dipendra Singh Airee, who smashed six maximums in his first six deliveries against Mongolia, top-scored with 32 off 15 deliveries.
For India, leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi was the pick of the bowlers, registering outstanding figures of 4-0-24-3, while Avesh Khan also finished with three scalps under his belt. It remains to be seen who India lock horns with in the semi-finals.
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