ENGLAND TAKES WIN OVER NEPAL IN WORLD CUP SERIES

In their opening match of the T20 World Cup in Mumbai, England rallied from the brink to defeat an inspired Nepal by four runs and escape a big shock.

Sam Curran had to defend 10 from the final over to deny Nepal the greatest victory in cricket history and spare his team from further suffering a month after their Ashes disaster. To win, the outstanding Lokesh Bam had to hit the final ball for six, but he only struck one.

After hitting two sixes to dismiss Jofra Archer for 22 in the 18th over and then swatting Luke Wood for two more fours in the 19th, he appeared to be leading his team to victory.

However, England persevered, with the freshly recalled Curran making last-minute yorkers. Harry Brook, who scored 53 in England's 184-7 victory, and head coach Brendon McCullum will start the World Cup without the shame of having to deal with one of the greatest upsets in the tournament's history.

By the end, England was clearly relieved. There was no raucous revelry. It had been rescued from the precipice. They entered this World Cup as one of the favourites, having won ten of their previous eleven Twenty20 matches, despite everything that has transpired this winter. Everything, especially McCullum's future, would have been scrutinised once more if Curran hadn't saved the win. That is postponed till a later time. Additionally, England deserves kudos for not faltering as other English teams have in the past.

Liam Dawson, who took 2-21 from his four overs in his maiden World Cup match at the age of 35, and Will Jacks, who hit three crucial sixes in the final over of England's innings to end 39 not out, both deserve praise. Curran seems to have turned the tide once already.

His slower ball caught right-hander Dipendra Singh Airee at deep over on 44 after Nepal had scored 124-2. In the following over, Dawson removed captain Rohit Paudel for 39. Curran had to bowl last because England's seasoned bowlers, Archer and Adil Rashid, failed and gave up 42 runs from three overs.

He mixed his pace and bowled mostly full, failing to give up a boundary in the last over.

He was recalled at the end of last summer after being dropped by England, but he was there when it counted most. At the end, Nepal's players performed a lap of honour in front of their disheartened fans. They have never defeated a significant country on the international front, despite being predicted to cause trouble at this World Cup after defeating the West Indies in three games last year and pushing South Africa to the very end at the 2024 World Cup.

Sandeep Lamichhane, a leg-spinner, was the best with 1–25, including the wicket of Tom Banton lbw for two. They were also quite good with the ball.

In an excellent all-around performance, Airee got two wickets with his off-spin and off-spinner Sher Malla had Phil Salt caught off a top edge with his debut ball in international cricket. Nepal's batting was on par as they swept and scampered, despite Jacob Bethell's entertaining 55 and Brook's well-placed 53 for England. They have a genuine chance of moving up from this group based on this data and the fact that they play all four games in Mumbai.