Hyderabad: Mongolia equalled the record for the lowest team score in the history of men’s T20Is after they were bowled out for a mere 10 runs on Thursday. The incident happened during a match between Singapore and Mongolia in the ICC T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier match in Bangi (Malaysia).
While Mongolia and Isle of Man hold the record lowest team total records jointly, the former side owns the second (12/10) and third (17/10) lowest team totals in T20I cricket. Notably, Mongolia also holds the record for the lowest run rate in any T20 International match.
After being put in to bat first at the YSD-UKM Cricket Oval, the Mongolian innings came to an end in exactly 10 overs. Singapore's 17-year-old leg-spinner Harsha Bharadwaj picked up six wickets in four overs, conceding only three runs. Five batters registered ducks and none scored more than 2 runs.
The batting collapse began with the commencement of the match itself when Mohan Vivekanandan fell to Bharadwaj for a golden duck. In the same over, Davaasuren Jamyansuren walked back to the pavilion for a three-ball duck. Besides Bharadwaj, Akshay Puri picked up two wickets for four runs while Rahul Sheshadri and Ramesh Kalimuthu took a wicket each to restrict an embarrassing total of 10 runs.
In reply to an 11-run chase, Singapore’s innings didn't have a perfect start as their captain Manpreet Singh fell for a first-ball duck on the first ball of the over. However, Raoul Sharma (7*) and William Simpson (6*) didn’t wait long to chase down the total as Singapore overhauled the target in five deliveries for a nine-wicket win.