England survive almighty scare in World Cup opener
ALMOST a “Nepal-ling” start by England to their World Cup campaign.
But somehow they got the job done, squeezing home by four runs after minnows Nepal pushed them all the way, cheered on by a raucous support at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, not least during a post-match lap of honour that was tinged with poignancy but brimming with pride.
When the dust has settled, as it quickly must, Nepal will reflect that they blew a golden chance, requiring 13 runs from the last nine balls with five wickets left as the 500-1 competition outsiders looked odds-on to triumph.
But after bowling three wides at the beginning of the penultimate over, after Jofra Archer conceded 22 off the previous set, Luke Wood regained his composure and then Sam Curran closed out proceedings with 10 wanted from the final over, consigning Lokesh Bam’s unbeaten 39 from 20 balls into the category marked “heroic failure”.
When Bam failed to hit the last ball for the six runs still needed, managing just a single to deep cover, he went down on his haunches as Brett Lee had done at Edgbaston in 2005. It was Bam, though, who had single-handedly kept Nepal in the hunt after England made 184-7; they had wanted 45 from three overs when he clubbed successive sixes off Archer before striking two further fours off the wobbling Wood.
Archer conceded 42 from his four overs and Adil Rashid 42 from three. The Yorkshireman is not often taken apart, with 19 coming off his third over, including a six apiece for captain Rohit Paudel and for Dipendra Singh Airee, whose third-wicket stand of 82 from 54 balls was the highest of the contest.
As ever, T20 is a format of fine margins. Had Nepal lived up to their reputation as a strong fielding unit, rather than the occasionally sloppy one witnessed here, things might have been different. Ditto had they had finished more strongly with the ball, only for the decision to go with the pace of Karan KC rather than spin for the last over possibly backfiring.
Twenty-one runs came from it, including three offside sixes by Will Jacks, whose own unbeaten 39 (from 18 balls) shaded that of Bam and earned him player-of-the-match, helped by figures of 1-17 from two overs that included the key scalp of opener Kushal Bhurtel, whose 29 from 17 balls ignited the chase.
After opening partner Aasif Sheikh skied Liam Dawson to short-fine leg, Bhurtel was caught-and-bowled off a leading edge. Nepal had reached 124-3 in the 15th when the fine stand between Paudel and Airee was ended, the latter skying Curran to deep cover for the top score of 44 from 29.
When Paudel then fell, pulling Dawson to mid-wicket for 38 from 34, it seemed Nepal’s night was done, but roared on by the swathes of blue and red shirts in the stands they came mightily close and could not have given more.
Their day began memorably when Sher Malla, a 23-year-old off-spinner on international debut, struck with the first ball, Phil Salt skying lazily to short fine-leg, Malla falling over in his enthusiasm to celebrate the moment.
Jacob Bethell then took the wind out of his sails, blending power with grace and seizing on anything short of length. After Jos Buttler was caught behind and Tom Banton lbw reverse-sweeping on review, Bethell reached a fine 28-ball half-century. He went on to the top score of 55 before lofting to long-on.
Harry Brook, with whom Bethell added 71 for the fourth wicket in 45 balls, continued his good form with another fine fifty, including a couple of remarkable sixes over long-on played off the back foot.
Brook fell for 53 from 32, skying into the offside, with Curran chopping on and Archer run-out off the penultimate ball to get Jacks back on strike.
He struck it into the stands where not even the disappointment of defeat could completely erase the smiles from the faces of the Nepalese supporters.