Cricket – Two-time champions England survived a major scare before labouring to a four-run victory against a plucky Nepal in a Group C last-ball thriller at the Twenty20 World Cup yesterday.
A mismatch looked on the cards after fifties by captain Harry Brook (53) and Jacob Bethell (55) fired England to 184-7, which appeared beyond the modest batting resources of Nepal, a tier-two member of the International Cricket Council.
Rohit Paudel and his teammates, however, refused to throw in the towel and put up a spirited chase only to fall agonisingly short of a famous victory.
Kushal Bhurtel (29), Paudel (39) and Dipendra Singh Airee (44) kept them in the hunt before Lokesh Bam spread panic in the England camp with his late batting blitz.
England’s spin trump card Adil Rashid was taken out of the attack after three expensive and wicketless overs while Bam hit speedster Jofra Archer for back-to-back sixes, showing scant regard for reputation.
Pressure mounted but Bam never took his foot off the pedal to put the pressure back on England and propel Nepal to a position where they needed 10 runs from the last over from Sam Curran.
Curran bowled with ice in his veins, conceding only four runs in five deliveries to set up a last-ball thriller with Bam at the striker’s end looking to seal a famous win for his team with a six.
Curran fired a low full toss, denying any elevation to Bam, who could only hit it to the deep cover for a single.
“It wasn’t easy at all but thankfully we got over the line,” a visibly relieved England captain Brook said.
Bam remained unbeaten on 39 as Nepal finished on 180-6.
Tournament co-hosts Sri Lanka beat Ireland by 20 runs in a Group B contest in Colombo.
Put in to bat, Sri Lanka posted 163-6 and returned to bowl out Ireland for 143 with their spin duo of Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga claiming three wickets apiece.
New Zealand pulled off a steep chase against Afghanistan’s spin-heavy attack to begin their campaign with a five-wicket victory in a group D match in Chennai.
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