Nepal suffered a 20-run defeat to Namibia in the first match of the Twenty20 International Tri-Nation Series after Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton smashed fastest T20I hundred at the TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur on Tuesday.

Loftie-Eaton came out to bat in the 11th over when Namibia, who opted to bat first after winning the toss, were 62-3 and breathed fire to help his side post a huge 206-4 total in 20 overs.

The 22-year-old batter cracked 11 fours and eight sixes to reach his hundred-run milestone off just 33 balls, eclipsing Nepal’s Kushal Malla’s world record by one ball. Malla had achieved the feat during the Hangzhou Asian Games in September last year when he hit a century off 34 balls against Mongolia.

The 92 runs Loftie-Eaton scored from fours and sixes in an innings is also the most by a batter in the T20Is. The previous record for most runs from fours and sixes belonged to his compatriot Jean-Pierre Kotze, who had scored seven boundaries and nine maximums (82 runs from fours and six) against Southern African nation Botswana in August 2019.

Loftie-Eaton scored 101 runs facing 36 deliveries and put on a 135-run stand off 52 balls with Malan Kruger, who made unbeaten 59 runs off 48 balls to power Namibia past 200 total. Kruger hit six boundaries and two sixes.

Loftie-Eaton was caught by Gulsan Jha off Abhinash Bohara in the 19.2 overs.

Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel took two wickets, while Karan KC and Bohara picked one wicket each.

In the chase, Nepal did their best to achieve the target but fell 20 runs short.

Nepal started terribly, losing openers Kushal Bhurtel for a golden duck and Aasif Sheikh for a cheap six—both to Ruben Trumpelmann.

Captain Paudel and Malla added 57 runs off 28 balls for the third wicket to bring Nepal back in the game. Paudel played a valiant knock of 24-ball 42 and Malla hit 32 runs facing 21 deliveries.

After Paudel and Malla walked back to the pavilion, dismissed by Loftie-Eaton and Barnard Scholtz respectively, Nepal struggled again.

Jha (12), Sundeep Jora (5) and Bibek Yadav (6) joined the dugout without making any significant contributions.

Sompal Kami smacked a six in the last ball of the 16th over and two more sixes and a four facing in the next three balls in his aggressive 11–ball 26 to revive Nepal’s innings.

Number five batter Dipendra Singh Airee kept resisting the Namibia bowling attack and played a gallant 32-ball 48 to take Nepal to 186-8, before Trumpelmann removed him, caught by Zane Green in the 18.4 overs.

Bohara came to strike with Nepal needing 21 runs from the last seven balls but Trumelmann took his fourth wicket of the innings the very next delivery to restrict Nepal to 186 all out in 18.5 overs.

Loftie-Eaton, Scholtz and Frylinck also pocketed two wickets each.

This is Nepal’s third consecutive loss against Namibia, all played at home. The Rhinos lost both their one-day international matches of the Nepal Tri-series of the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 to Namibia this month.

Nepal will play the Netherlands in the second T20I of the Tri-series on Wednesday, before competing against the same sides once again, on March 1 and March 2.

The final is scheduled for March 5.

All three teams have qualified for the T20 World Cup to be held in June in the West Indies and the United States.