After a loss of mere four runs in a dramatic last-ball thriller to two-time champions England, the Wankhede Stadium crowd stood and cheered Nepal for their valiant effort at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Between the fans, a strong moment shared
On the completion of the last delivery, the Nepal players took a lap of honor to applaud the travelling and home support filling the stands. It was evidence of how cricket binds supporters in the face of underdog faring with a lot of commitments.
The standing ovations were thus respect for a good fight put on the field by Nepal and not a charitable act on account of defeat. The spectators below chanted and waved their flags, and players raised their arms to acknowledge the noise. That was an amazing touch from a country just starting to truly recognize cricket.
Match Review: England Scored 184-8, setting Nepal to achieve a huge target.
Batting first, England restored their innings after the early loss to post 184/7. The experienced pair of Jacob Bethell and Harry Brook added 71 runs, and Will Jacks finished with a quickfire 39 of just 18 balls.
The score looked substantial, but not that much intimidating. The Nepalese chase turned out to be much closer than expected as the batsmen descended with the business of present, quick-hitting to rebuild partnerships from time to time. So, with a couple of hits as the game neared its close, the match was still anyone’s game.
Some moments during the last end of the match, and the final over with all the drama
Rohit Paudel and Dipendra Singh Airee partnered for 82, almost putting Nepal in the match again. Airee with 44 and Paudel, with just 39, took the game deep with the British bowlers hovering. The frightening charge from Lokesh Bam left Nepal requiring 10 runs from the last over. On the other hand, however, the match was held in the cool hands of Sam Curran, who kept them to another 4 runs from 5 balls and then another run on the last delivery made to secure the four-run win for England.
Points in the match that have been turning and shaping the encounter
Adil Rashid’s left-arm spin seemed innocuous across three fruitless overs, as runs came at an expensive rate, offering little to no risk to the well-set batsmen of Nepal. Despite the above sending right-arm fast medium just far beyond reach for much of his super-encouraging assurance through these tense Momemts of the youngsters, Sam Curran’s redeemed last over proved the key to almost losing and jumping at a tawdry self-defining moment.
Though England worked on the middle order through the fifties of Brook and Bethell’s feast with Jacks’ landing the knockout punch in his final and not counting Catron to a left stop, really, whatever could stretch Nepal’s resolve to the last ball could do!
Stand-out performers and statistical notes
For Nepal, Lokesh Bam’s unbeaten knock of 39 off 20 along with Dipendra’s 44 off 29 summed up Nepal’s balance between hitting power and touch: Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh were charging southpaws, who handled fast bowling with gusto all evening and sustained momentum throughout.
England fast medium which gave adequate support in the wicket department all over the innings: Liam Dawson’s two for 21 genuinely helped to break the flow, while Curran, Wood, and Archer put vital walls through the run chase.
Reactions, praise on social media and the road ahead
“The coach is the one who gets the credit,” wrote Nepal Captain Rohit Paudel at a post-match conference. The team has come to play as Dravid says. The guys gave everything. He pointed out the confidence and desire for improvement before their next game against Italy.
Praising the performance of players, former international players took to social media. They lauded the spirits shown and potential displayed by Nepal. Social media posts described Nepal as one of the promising emerging cricketing nations and envisioned this performance as a step toward growing higher up the cricket ladder: on the national and international stage.
Nepal made a good start at the Wankhede Stadium and most certainly feels more like a near-win than a loss. The standing ovation will likely generate strength, credibility, and enhanced confidence in the squad as it prepares itself for the rest of the tournament.
