England narrowly escape against Nepal at T20 World Cup
England has narrowly avoided a T20 World Cup disaster, after defeating Nepal by four runs in their tournament opener on Sunday.
Heavily fancied to push deep into the Men’s T20 World Cup and priced at 6.50 to win the tournament, England were pushed to the brink by a fearless Nepal side that threatened a major upset in front of a rowdy pro-Nepal crowd.
Chasing 185, Nepal surged late to require just 10 runs from the final over after plundering 46 from the previous three, before Sam Curran held his nerve to close out the match.
Nepal’s chase was anchored by Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh early, before captain Rohit Paudel and Dipendra Singh Airee seized control in the middle overs, forcing England onto the defensive and neutralising Adil Rashid. After both fell in quick succession, Lokesh Bam reignited hopes with a brutal late assault that kept the result in doubt until the final ball.
Earlier, England recovered from early losses to post a competitive total, built around half-centuries from Jacob Bethell and Harry Brook and a late burst from Will Jacks.
When Tom Banton fell cheaply, Bethel was joined by Brooke and they combined for 71 off 45 balls, which formed the main partnership of England’s innings, but the former eventually fell trying to smack Dipendra Singh Airee out of ht ground.
Jacks late knock of (39 off 18 balls) was crucial, with the result of this match unlikely to have gone England’s way, without their talented all-rounder.
So far the T20 World Cup has failed to throw up any surprises, despite Sri Lanka being pushed by Ireland and Pakistan taking until the fourth last ball to defeat minnows the Netherlands.
England now face an important clash against the West Indies, who defeated Scotland in their opener, on Thursday, with cricket betting sites yet to frame a market.
