NEPAL! Minnow’s heartbreak as Poms survive almighty scare in final-ball thriller — T20 WC Wrap

England clung on to beat Nepal by four runs in a nerve-jangling last-ball thriller in Mumbai on Sunday and avoid one of the biggest upsets in the history of the T20 World Cup.

Chasing an imposing 185, Nepal’s Lokesh Bam, who had bludgeoned a brave 39 off 19 balls to give his side a sniff of a famous win, needed a six off the final delivery bowled by Sam Curran but could only manage a single.

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It was a breathless and agonising end to a valiant run chase by the cricketing minnows, who put England’s premier bowlers Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid to the sword.

Curran was the hero for England, stifling Lokesh and allowing just five runs from the final ‘death’ over.

“I said to Brook ‘I’m backing six yorkers here and I’ll take the hit if I don’t execute,” said Curran. “I think you’ve got to think like that.” Jacob Bethell (55) and Harry Brook (53) scored quick fifties for England but it was a late cameo by Will Jacks that took them to 184-7 in the Group C match, a total that proved just enough.

Jacks hoisted three spectacular sixes off the final over from Karan KC to finish 39 not out off 18 balls.

Nepal ended a whisker away at 180-6, to the disappointment of nearly all the 17,000 spectators in the Wankhede stadium who had been roaring them on.

“It just shows how competitive this World Cup’s going to be,” said Curran. “We knew it was going to be full of Nepal fans. I played a lot of cricket in India and I’ve never had an atmosphere quite like that.”

- ‘Winning ugly’ -

Nepal’s players received a massive ovation as they did a lap of honour at the end.

“Winning ugly is a good trait,” a relieved Jacks told reporters after England’s 11th win in their last 12 completed T20 internationals.

“Hopefully when we get in that situation in the rest of the tournament -- which we definitely will at some stage -- we’ll be able to look back on this experience today and take that with us.

“I was very nervous, my heart was thumping on the boundary.” Nepal got off to a flying start in their chase, Kushal Bhurtel crunching 29 off 17 balls before Jacks had him caught and bowled.

Captain Rohit Paudel and Dipendra Singh Airee came together at 42-2 and brought up Nepal’s 100 in the 12th over.

Pace man Archer, who conceded 14 off his first over, was brought back and this time put on the brakes, conceding just six runs from his next two overs.

But the Nepali batsmen took a liking to Rashid at the other end, launching the leg-spinner for 19 off his third over with Airee hitting two sixes and a four.

- ‘It wasn’t easy’ -

An unusually loose display from England’s number one white ball spinner saw him finish with an expensive 0-42 from three overs.

“It wasn’t easy at all, thankfully we got over the line,” said England captain Brook.

“They played extremely well, not many teams take Adil Rashid down the way they did. I wish them all the best for the rest of the competition.” Nepal needed 62 off the last six overs with eight wickets in hand. Left-arm seamer Curran returned and immediately got the vital breakthrough, ending the 82-run partnership for the third wicket when Airee holed out to Tom Banton for 44 off 29 balls.

Paudel on 39 then swept Liam Dawson to Phil Salt at deep mid-wicket to leave them 126-4 in the 16th over.

Archer’s final over was costly as he was thrashed for three sixes and 22 runs by Lokesh to leave Nepal needing 24 off 12 balls for an unlikely win.

They took 14 from Luke Wood’s final over to leave 10 from six balls but could only manage five as Curran held his nerve.

“Result-wise, it didn’t go our way, but effort-wise, I give 100 per cent on fielding, bowling and batting,” said Nepal captain Paudel.

“England were also struggling with death bowling, but Sam Curran bowled really well.” Dawson, playing his first World Cup match, was the pick of England’s bowlers with 2-21 while Archer returned an expensive 1-42 from his four.

BBL STAR POWERS KIWIS

Opener Tim Seifert struck a blistering 65 off 42 balls to lead New Zealand’s highest-ever run in a T20 World Cup as they beat Afghanistan by five wickets on Sunday.

After Afghanistan made 182-6, New Zealand were driven by Seifert’s 42-ball knock and 42 by Glenn Phillips to achieve their target with 13 balls to spare in Chennai.

New Zealand’s previous best chase in the T20 World Cup was their 167 against England in the 2021 semi-final.

“It’s always nice to start the tournament with a few runs under your belt, but the main thing is we got the win,” player of the match Seifert said.

“Tough conditions as well out there. Lost a couple of early wickets, so it’s nice to get the job done.” Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman had New Zealand in early trouble when he struck on successive balls in the second over of the chase to dismiss Finn Allen, for one, and Rachin Ravindra, for a duck.

The hat-trick was avoided by Phillips, who then got going with wicketkeeper Seifert in a partnership of 74 for the third wicket to thwart Afghanistan’s spin-heavy attack.

Captain Rashid Khan let out a roar as he broke through to dismiss Phillips, who inside edged onto his stumps.

Leg-spinner Rashid dropped Seifert on 48 off his own bowling and the batsman reached his fifty with a six off veteran spinner Mohammad Nabi.

Seifert hit Nabi for another six and a four on successive balls before the bowler had his revenge on the next when he top-edged to be caught in the deep.

Mark Chapman fell after a 17-ball 28 but Daryl Mitchell, on 25, and skipper Mitchell Santner, on 17, saw New Zealand to 183-5 and a comfortable victory.

“We haven’t landed the ball in the right areas,” said Rashid. “If we had bowled into the wicket and good length it was difficult to score. We need to improve in certain areas.” Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat and Gulbadin Naib, coming in at number three, struck 63 off 35 balls as after they had slipped to 44-2.

Matt Henry nearly had Rahmanullah Gurbaz caught after he skied a top edge behind the stumps, but keeper Seifert and Allen collided as they both ran back and the chance went begging.

Pace bowler Lockie Ferguson struck twice in his opening over to send back Ibrahim Zadran, for 10, and then Gurbaz, bowled for 27 off an inside edge.

Naib and left-hander Sediqullah Atal, who made 29, got together to rebuild the innings with a 79-run stand for the third wicket.

Naib reached his fourth T20 fifty off 29 balls before he departed attempting a slog off left-arm spinner Ravindra.

LAST MINUTE CALL UP BECOMES MATCH WINNER

Sri Lanka’s 11th-hour call to draft in Kamindu Mendis proved a masterstroke as the all-rounder produced a match turning cameo to set up a 20-run win over Ireland in their T20 World Cup opener at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.

Kamindu’s blistering 44 off 19 balls with four fours and two sixes gave Sri Lanka the late thrust they badly needed to post 163.

The spin trio of Maheesh Theekshana, Wanindu Hasaranga and Dunith Wellalage then ran through the Irish middle order, sharing seven wickets to seal a comfortable victory.

“I just wanted to score a few boundaries and put a partnership with Kusal Mendis,” said Kamindu.

“Kusal was outstanding today. He deserves a lot of credit. We wanted someone to bat through the innings.

“They played well during the run chase until the 15th over. We had to keep our calm and we knew they had to take risks and we bowled well towards the end.” Hasaranga claimed three wickets to take his World Cup tally to 40, second only to Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, who has 50.

There were anxious moments when the leg-spinner, who has a history with hamstring injuries, limped off after his second over.

Though he returned to complete his quota, he moved gingerly, raising question marks over his fitness for the rest of the campaign.

Sri Lanka’s innings had been stuck in first gear until Kamindu strode in with the scoreboard reading 86 for four in the 14th over, boundaries having dried up against Ireland’s spinners.

The left-hander broke a 57-ball boundary drought with a cheeky reverse sweep and then went into overdrive, plundering 21 runs in the 17th over to wrestle back the momentum.

With Kusal Mendis playing the sheet anchor role in an unbeaten half-century, Sri Lanka found a competitive total from what had looked a below-par platform.

Ireland were marshalled by left-arm spinner George Dockrell, who returned a miserly spell of 2-17.

A 49-run stand between Lorcan Tucker and Harry Tector for the third wicket kept Ireland in the hunt.

From a promising 105 for two, Ireland lost their way and folded for 143 in 19.5 overs with Matheesha Pathirana cleaning up with two wickets in the final over.

“They got 15 runs too many,” said Ireland captain Paul Sterling. “Bit sloppy in the field and we have plenty of work to do before the next game. “We were confident with plenty of wickets in hand, but Sri Lanka held their nerve.

“Spin is a challenge for us. It wasn’t coming onto the bat as much as we expected. Spin I believe is going to play a big role in this tournament.” Former champions Sri Lanka are co-hosting the 20 nation showpiece alongside defending champions India.

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