Five months to the day after Kushal Malla set the record for the fastest T20I century as he raced to three figures in 34 balls on his way to 137 from 50 against Mongolia in last year's Asian Games, he was in the field watching as Namibia's Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton broke his record today in the first match of the T20I series that began today and also involves the Netherlands.

Loftie-Eaton entered the fray at the fall of the third wicket with the score on 62. With career figures of 182 runs in 20 innings at an average of 10.71 and a previous best of 28 before today, he was on paper an unlikely choice for someone to set a record.

After a wide - from which he ran one - and a single from the first two balls he faced, he hit the first ball of the 12th over for six before ending the same over with a four and another six from consecutive deliveries. Malan Kruger joined in the fun with two sixes of his own to start the thirteenth over.

He brought up his fifty from 18 balls in the 16th over, and the runs just kept on coming. At the start of the 19th over he hit a six to take his score to 96 from 31 balls, meaning he had two deliveries to score four more runs and break Malla's record. After a dot for the next delivery, Dipendra SIngh Airee sent down a full toss which Loftie-Eaton flicked fine for a boundary, bringing his century up from just 33 balls, with 11 fours and 8 sixes.

He faced three more deliveries before he fell for 101 from 36 balls. Malan Kruger finished the innings unbeaten on 59 from 48 balls in Namibia's total of 206. It was a higher team total than any made during the ODI tri-series at the same venue that immediately preceded this T20I tri-series.

Loftie-Eaton's day wasn't over as he was also called on to send down three overs of his leg-break bowling, taking 2-29 in the process. Ruben Trumpelmann was the leading wicket taker though, taking 4-29 as Nepal were bowled out for 186, losing by 20 runs.

Namibia now have a day to rest and celebrate Loftie-Eaton's record before taking on the Netherlands on Thursday. Nepal are back in action tomorrow as they face off against the Dutch.