On a raucous early evening in front of a hugely one-sided crowd, Nepal so nearly provided the upset this World Cup needed and England were so desperate to avoid, as they seek to buff a tarnished winter into some kind of shine. As their captain, Rohit Paudel, had pointed out before the tournament began, the Nepalese are used to climbing mountains. Even on an awkward surface a target of 185 was pretty trivial by Himalayan standards.
A brave and sometimes brutal batting performance, capped by a thrilling and so nearly decisive contribution from the aptly named Lokesh Bam, hauled them to within touching distance of the summit. In the end they needed 10 off the last over, having plundered 46 off the previous three. But Sam Curran held his nerve where so many of his teammates had wobbled and England won, in the end, by just four runs.
Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh started the chase well and they were followed by the game’s outstanding partnership, as Paudel and Dipendra Singh Airee spent precisely nine overs combining to provoke exuberant celebrations in the packed sections of Nepalese support, and a rising sense of dread among the comparative handful of those favouring their opponents.
Nobody was safe: Adil Rashid, for so long England’s reliable fallback when they find themselves in need of control in the middle overs, was hit out of the attack once, and then again, and then again. His first over went for 13, his second for 10, his third for 19, ending with a beautifully timed sweep into the stands from Airee. He was not required to bowl a fourth, and he finished wicketless for the first time in 28 T20s dating back to England’s second game of the last World Cup. Only four times in his 138-match T20 career has Rashid conceded more than the 14 runs an over he averaged here.
Airee’s power-hitting credentials are well established – in 2023 he scored the fastest international half‑century off just nine balls of a T20 against Mongolia – while Paudel is Nepal’s captain and often their inspiration. The feeling grew that this pair held the match in their gloved hands. But then both fell in swift succession and England finally felt they could breathe – only for Bam to restart the process of asphyxiation.
This is Nepal’s third appearance in this tournament but they have not won a game since their first, when they were knocked out in the preliminary group stage despite beating both Hong Kong and Afghanistan. But they are a rapidly improving side with a growing reputation which they did no harm here, and if their performance did not yield victory it was followed by a deserved lap of honour.
After winning the toss – Paudel said with a grin that he would have chosen to bowl anyway – England’s day started uncomfortably and grew increasingly awkward from there. The 23-year-old Sher Malla took a wicket with his first ball of the game – and, for that matter, his first in international cricket – as Phil Salt presented Sandeep Lamichhane with a catch that would have been straightforward but for the glare of the sun.
Nandan Yadav dismissed Jos Buttler with his third delivery, cramping the batter who nicked through to the keeper, and Lamichhane himself struck with his first, immediately after the conclusion of the powerplay and the subsequent drinks break, trapping Tom Banton lbw to leave England 57 for three. Lamichhane was to prove Nepal’s best bowler, evident in the way England cautiously negotiated his final over, the 17th of their innings, scoring just a single, and that only because of a slight misfield at mid-on.
Half-centuries from Jacob Bethell and Harry Brook, and some late fireworks from Will Jacks, brought the bulk of England’s runs. Bethell was the first batter to settle, and if Malla’s debut over started with him being mobbed in celebration within three deliveries he had his captain’s arm draped around his shoulder for less positive reasons as England’s 22‑year‑old tyro tucked in.
Banton’s dismissal saw him joined by Brook and between them they added 71 off 45 to give England a crucial combination of stability and impetus, but when Brook accelerated, scoring a four and two sixes off successive deliveries, Bethell’s attempt to mimic his aggression resulted in the ball being skied to an inrushing long-on.
After an awkward cameo from Curran – unlike when he had the ball in his hand, when wielding a bat he seemed entirely unsure what to do with it or when to do it – Jacks emerged to drag England to what felt, and ultimately proved, a match-winning target. He started slowly, scoring three singles from his first eight deliveries, before sprinting to another 36 off his remaining 10. In the end what separated the sides was their final overs: Jacks tucked in to Karan KC’s bowling to add 22 to England’s total; Nepal were left with a challenge that never slipped out of sight, but in the end fell just out of reach.
