Nepali Cricket has broken many international world records since its establishment. Some of the records that Nepali players and a Nepali team have got are unbreakable.
In the last blog, we talked about some of the young players to watch out for and their performances till now. Today we are going to discuss the world record from the Rhinos.
In past , Nepali cricketing legends like Binod Das, Mahboob Alam, and Shakti Gauchan have given some exceptional performances that we still cherish. And, in recent years we have got superstars in the face of Rohit Paudel, Kushal Malla, and Sandeep Lamichhane. Even these younger players have world records in their name.
Top 5 World Records Held by Nepali cricketers
In this list below we are going to show you the top 5 world records that are held by the Nepali cricketers. These records are :
- Youngest Player to score a Half century in ODI cricket
- Fastest to 100 wickets in an ODI
- Bowled out a team for just 10 runs
- 10 wickets by a single player in 50 overs game
- Most economical spell in a limited over format
Now lets talk about each of the records in detail.
1. yOUNGEST PLAYER TO SCORE A HALF CENTURY IN ODI CRICKET
Kushal Malla from Nepal is the youngest player to score half-century in ODI. Malla was only 15 years old when he got his first half century.
Kushal Malla from Nepal is a hard hitting batsman who is well known for his both batting and bowling ability. The young talent is a left handed batsman and a left arm spinner.
On February 8, 2020 , Nepal was playing a game against U.S.A in ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2. After winning the toss , USA chose to bowl first in a bowling friendly pitch of Kritipur.
The bowlers from USA were in quite a form as they managed to send half of the players back to pavilion in just 49 runs. The home fans were stunned by the performance of USA. And then came Nepal’s youngest team member who was just 15 years old at that time.
In that inning , Kushal decided to play his natural game. Young Malla scored half century in just 49 balls. He managed to hit 4 boundaries and 3 sixes in that game. Due to his impressive batting ability Team Nepal managed to score 190 runs in first inning.
Beside that , Malla also took a wicket in that game. The young spinner managed to get a wicket of Elmore Hutchinson. The talented all rounder only gave 30 runs in his spell of 10 overs.
Due to his all round performance Nepal managed to win the game by 35 runs.
2. Fastest to 100 wickets in an odi
Sandeep Lamichhane is the only player from Nepal who played IPL . Lamichhane used to play for the Delhi Capitals.
Sandeep is the fastest bowler in the world to take 100 wickets. The Nepali Cricketer took only 42 matches to reach at this landmark. The talented leg spinner broke the record of Rashid Khan who took 44 matches to take 100 wickets. This record came to Sandeep’s name in the game against Oman in 21 April 2023.
Sandeep is also one of those player who made Nepali Cricket famous all over the world. Due to his exceptional spinning ability , he was invited to play in different leagues of World. The young spinner has been really successful in almost every league.
However , the young cricketer always gives his best while playing for the Nation. Lamichhane made his ODI debut against the Netherlands in 1 August 2018 where he managed to take the first wicket for team Nepal.
The 23 year old spinner has 111 wickets in ODI’s till now and in T20I’s he has got 85 wickets till now. Not just that , he was taken all of his wickets with an average of just 17.25 and his economy rate is also just 4.27.
Sandeep took wicket in 33 consecutive matches
Sandeep also has another world record to his name. Lamichhane has taken at least 1 wicket in 33 consecutive matches. The record was previously held by the legendary Australian pacer Brett Lee.
The journey that started from 12th February 2020 against USA where he managed to take six wickets by giving just 16 runs. This beautiful journey came to an end when he failed to take the wicket in a game against Zimbabwe in the World Cup Qualifiers.
But this result shows us how consistent Sandeep has been for Nepal.
3. Bowled out a Team for just 10 runs
Back in 2006 , Nepali national team bowled out the Myanmar for just 10 runs in a 50 over game. Myanmar team’s 10 run is still the lowest score made by any team in any international format.
In 2006 , Myanmar had just began to play the international cricket. 48 hours before the game , Myanmar team had faced a humiliating loss against Hongkong by 380 runs.
In that game Nepal had won the toss and decided to bowl first. The Nepali team got a flying start after dismissing the opening batsman Omer in the very first ball. Mehboob alam , the opening bowler from Nepal , started the blood bath. In that game Mehboob Alam went on to take 7 wickets and the other remaining 3 wickets were taken by Nepal’s Captain Binod Das.
Non of the Batsman from Myanmar scored more than 1 runs. In fact only 5 batsman scored a run for Myanmar. The remaining run for Myanmar came in the form extras.
The target was chased down by Nepal in just 2 balls. The opening batsman Gyanendra Malla and Mahesh Chhetri both scored 3 runs each in that game . And remaining 5 runs came in the form of wide. Nepal also holds a world record of chasing down the target in just 2 balls which is quickest in any format.
Joint world record of bowling out a team in just 35 runs in ODI International
The record against Myanmar is impressive but that match will be counted as a first class cricket cause both of the nation were just an associate nation during those time.
But the good news is Nepal also holds a record of bowling out a team in lowest score in ODI. On February 12 2020 , Nepal were playing a game against USA in ICC World Cup League Division 2. Before that game USA were looking solid in the tournament as they had won 6 games out of 9 games they played.
Even after being in a hot form , USA had no answers for the questions asked by the Nepali spinners. The international superstar Sandeep Lamichhane managed to bag 6 wickets for just 16 runs where as Sushan Bhari , another talented spinner , managed to take 4 wickets of USA.
Only opening batter Xavier Marshall managed to score in double digits in that game. Other batters of USA didn’t even manage to cross 5 runs from their bat.
This feat in the world of cricket was only achieved once before in international cricket. It was the time when Zimbabwe had managed to score 35 runs against Srilanka in 2004. Thus , Nepal and Sri Lanka holds a joint world record of bowling out a team in lowest possible score.
4. 10 wickets by a single player in 50 overs game
The lethal pacer Mehboob Alam has taken all the 10 wickets in a 50 overs game against Mozambique. The game was played in May 25 , 2008.
In 2008 , Nepal went to Jersey to play the ICC World cricket League Division 5. Though Nepal finished third in that tournament , the one Nepali player managed to write his name in the book of records.
On May 25 , 2008 , Nepal were playing against Mozambique. After winning the toss Mozambique decided to field first. After a brilliant batting performance from Gyanendra Malla and Paras Khadka , Nepal managed to score 238 runs in 50 overs. Our star player Mehboob Alam also scored a valuable 23 runs in the first inning.
In the second innings , the lethal pacer absolutely destroyed Mozambique’s batting lineup. Alam took all the 10 wickets of the opponent.
Alam was so lethal that he sent 8 batsman back to pavilion in duck. Among all his 10 wickets he needed a help from wicketkeeper just once. The lethal bowler bowled 5 batsman and other 4 batsman were out on lbw.
As a result whole Mozambique team were packed for just 19 runs and Nepal won by 219 runs.
5. Most economical spell in a limited over format
Historically speaking Nepal have been a weak in terms of batting . But , the Rhinos have always produced some of finest bowlers in world. Among them , Shakti Gauchan was the first bowler who gained fame nationally and internationally for his left arm bowling.
This legend of Nepali Cricket has achieved one of the most difficult feat in the world of cricket. In a game against Mozambique , Shakti only gave 2 runs in his spell of 10 overs in which he managed to take 3 wickets as well.
Back in 2012 , The rhinos had travelled to Malaysia to participate in ICC World Cricket League Division 4. They performed like absolute champions in that tournament. Shakti Gauchan achieved the world record in this tournament as well.
In September 06 2012 , Nepal was playing against the host Malaysia. After winning the toss , the host nation decided to bat first. But the magical spell from Shakti Gauchan restricted Malaysia for just 69 runs.
In response , Nepal chased down the target in just 12.2 overs with 10 wickets in hand.
Conclusion
So these were top 5 world record by the Nepali Team in the world cricket. What record was the most impressive record in your view ??