England edged Nepal by four runs to avoid a shock defeat in the T20 World Cup group stage.
Despite England’s firepower, it was left to all-rounder Sam Curran to defend 10 runs off the final over; the Surrey man conceded 5.
Meanwhile, England’s batting stalled before a late cameo from Will Jacks dragged them to 184-7 off their twenty overs.
England survive shock defeat to Nepal
Before the game started, many predicted it would be plain sailing for England. However, Nepal started the game well and quickly reduced England to 57-3 in the sixth over. Despite this, Harry Brook (53) and Jacob Bethell (55) both formed a partnership to drag England towards a competitive total.
As Harry Brook was dismissed in the 18th over, and the score was 157-6, it seemed unlikely that England would breach the 170-run mark. Will Jacks, who has seen himself playing lower down the batting order in recent times, then produced a cameo of 39 runs off 18 balls. This included four sixes as England finished on 184-7.
Nepal started impressively as the associate nation attacked the English bowlers. Despite early breakthroughs by Jacks and Liam Dawson, Rohit Paudel and Dipendra Singh Airee quickly formed a partnership to drag Nepal closer to their target of 185. However, the canny operator that is Liam Dawson struck to get rid of the dangerous Paudel. This was quickly followed up by the wicket of Airee, with Tom Banton taking a comfortable catch to put Nepal under pressure.
Despite Nepal being 126-4 in the 15th over, England were expected to see the game out with the pace of Luke Wood, Jofra Archer, and the variations of Sam Curran. However, late hitting from Lokesh Bam gave England an almighty scare. Bam scored 22 runs off Jofra Archer and 19 off Luke Wood, leaving Sam Curran 10 to defend off the last over.
Sam Curran holds nerves in the final over
Despite the pressure on Sam Curran, the Surrey all-rounder was trusted with the final over. The left-arm bowler, who is known for his variations, expertly changed his pace in the final over and changeups to keep Bam guessing. A combination of Yorkers and full deliveries meant Nepal were unable to claim their biggest World Cup win.
Curran held his nerve and was quickly congratulated by his captain, Harry Brook, as England sealed a four-run victory. Meanwhile, Lokesh Bam was on his knees as he failed to connect on a final-ball six that would have taken his side to victory.
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