Kushal Bhurtel of Nepal (PTI Photo/Shashank Parade)

nepal batsman Kushal Bhurtel He continued his extraordinary form in the Asian Games men’s cricket qualifier, equaling a rare world record with consecutive T20I centuries just days after hitting six sixes in a single over.The explosive opening batsman played another breathtaking innings on Thursday as Nepal defeated Malaysia by 167 runs to strengthen their bid for a place in the final of the tournament.After Malaysia elected to field first, Bhurtel and the wicketkeeper-batsman Asif Shaikh Launched a brutal attack on the top order. The pair added 134 runs for the opening wicket and reached three figures before the completion of the seventh over. After this, Nepal’s scoring rate slowed down a bit and by the end of the 16th over the team reached 230 runs for 2 wickets.Asif provided the early fireworks, scoring 68 runs from just 24 balls, before Virandeep Singh eventually finished his innings. However, the spotlight soon turned squarely on Bhurtel.The left-handed batsman completed his half-century in just 25 balls and needed only 19 balls to convert it into a century. He eventually walked out after scoring a sensational inning of 126 runs in 54 balls with the help of 14 fours and eight sixes.Riding on Bhurtel’s brilliance, Nepal scored 275 runs before securing a dominant win. Malaysia never threatened the target and were all out for only 108 runs.This century holds additional significance for Bhurtel. Having already scored a century in Nepal’s opening group match against China, he became only the 10th male cricketer in T20I history to register centuries in consecutive innings.This accomplishment puts him in an exclusive group with players like Riley Rossouw. sanju samson, Tilak Verma And Phil Salt.Bhurtel’s remarkable performance began in the opening match of the tournament against China, where he bowled one of the most devastating overs seen in international cricket. After completing his half-century inside eight overs, he targeted left-arm spinner Chen Zhou Yu in the next over and launched all six balls for six, with most of the blows coming straight over the bowler’s head.Despite the heavy defeat, Malaysia had already secured qualification for the 2026 Asian Games by defeating China in the competition. Now they will face Group B winner Hong Kong in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Nepal will take on Oman as it continues its search for gold.However, for now, the tournament belongs to Bhurtel. In the span of four days, he hit six sixes in an over, scored consecutive T20I centuries and etched his name in the record books with one of the most explosive batting performances ever seen in Associate cricket.