Nepal thrashed the Maldives in the first T20I match of the South Asian Games women’s cricket competition on Monday. Maldives captain Zoona Mariyam won the toss and elected to bat first but the decision backfired as they were bundled out for just 17 runs. Anjali Chand, who came into bowling in the seventh over, took six wickets in the game to help Nepal win the game in the first over only. Anjali Chand bowled two maiden overs and scalped six wickets without conceding a single run off her bowling to register the best bowling figures in any Twenty20 International (T20I) game – men or women.
Anjali Chand struck in her very first over as she dismissed the Maldives captain for a duck and two deliveries later, she dismissed Latsha Haleemath to pick up her second wicket.
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Shaffaa Saleem, who came in to bat at number eight, failed to open her account as Anjali once again managed to dismiss her. Eashal Ibrahim, Kinaanath Ismail and Shamma Ali also lost their wickets without scoring a single run. While chasing a below-par total of 17, Kajal Shrestha hit two boundaries in the first over as Nepal finished the match in just five balls.
Previously, Mas Elysa of Maldives had the record with figures of 6 for three against China in 2019 which was a world record but Anjali Chand has beat her with her 6 for 0. In men’s cricket, Deepak Chahar of India holds the record for best bowling figures in a T20I who had picked up six wickets for seven runs against Bangladesh last month.