Feb. 27 (indiatoday) - Namibian cricketer Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton has made cricket history by scoring the fastest century in T20 International (T20I) history, off just 33 balls, breaking the previous record set by Nepal's Kushal Malla.

Namibia's Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton scripted history by scoring the fastest century in T20 International (T20I) history during a bilateral match against Nepal. Achieving this monumental feat off just 33 balls, Loftie-Eaton shattered the previous record held by Nepal's Kushal Malla, who had set the benchmark at 34 balls against Mongolia during the Asian Games in 2023. This remarkable innings came during a match against Nepal, adding a layer of poetic justice as Malla himself was present on the field, witnessing his record being surpassed.

Loftie-Eaton, 22, smashed 101 runs off 36 balls in the T20I against Nepal, including 11 fours and eight sixes. The youthful left-handed hitter concluded his innings with a strike rate of 280.56, helping Namibia reach 206/4 in 20 overs after winning the toss and batting first. Namibia got off to a good start with the bat, with openers Michael van Lingen (20 off 19) and Malan Kruger (59* off 48) contributing 36 in six overs. Karan KC removed Van Lingen, and Rohit Paudel claimed the wickets of JP Kotze (11) and Jan Frylinck (5).

At 62/3, Loftie-Eaton teamed up with Kruger, and the two put on a thrilling 135-run stand for the fourth wicket. The former was dismissed in Namibia's final over, caught by Gulsan Jha off Abinash Bohara's bowling. Incredibly, before his record-breaking hundred on Tuesday, Loftie-Eaton had a terrible T20I batting record. He averaged 10.70 in 32 matches, scoring 182 runs at a strike rate of 100.55.

FASTEST T20I CENTURIONS

Loftie-Eaton now leads the list of batsmen with the fastest T20I hundred after scoring a century against Nepal while Malla is ranked second on the list with a 34-ball T20I hundred. South Africa's David Miller, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, and Czech Republic's Sudesh Wickramasekara have dropped to joint third in the list. All three have scored T20I hundreds in 35 balls. Miller hit 101* from 36 balls against Bangladesh in Potchefstroom in October 2017. Rohit scored 118 from 43 balls against Sri Lanka in Indore in December 2017, including 12 fours and 10 sixes. Wickramasekara scored 104* off 36 versus Turkey in the Continental Cup in Ilfov County in August 2019.

https://youtu.be/K2dV2DIB6Es