‘Hitting some sixes like MS Dhoni’ is the solution, Nepal’s Yadav says
Nepal suffer narrow four-run loss to England in the T20 World Cup
Dubai: Nepal came agonisingly close to a historic upset but ultimately fell short by four runs against England in their T20 World Cup clash in Mumbai on Sunday.
Following the heartbreaking loss, young pacer Nandan Yadav when asked what the team had learned, he said: “The lessons, like most, we like hitting some sixes, like Mahendra Singh Dhoni.”
The team’s spirited performance caught the attention of cricketing legends, particularly South African fast-bowling great Dale Steyn, who took to social media offering his coaching services to Nepal.
Responding to Steyn’s gesture, Yadav expressed both honour and uncertainty. “That’s a big thing for us. Someone, a legend who ruled cricket for 10 years, is tweeting something like this. But it’s more of a management team decision — we can’t approach him directly. Maybe we can, so I don’t know how to answer this one,” he said.
The 24-year-old pacer described the team’s conflicted feelings after coming so close to victory. “We feel both — sometimes regret and sometimes pride — because we’re competing against a strong team like England and came really close to winning. So it’s 50-50 for us: proud but obviously with some regret, because we were so close.”
On Sunday, England posted 184 batting first, built on a crucial 71-run fourth-wicket partnership between Jacob Bethell (55 off 34) and captain Harry Brook (53 off 32). Jack’s explosive unbeaten 39 off 18 balls propelled England to a competitive total. Nepal’s bowlers fought hard, with Dipendra Singh Airee (2/23), Nandan Yadav (2/25), and Sandeep Lamichhane (1/25) among the wickets.
Chasing 185, Nepal raced to 31/0 within three overs before slipping to 47/2 in the powerplay. Captain Rohit Paudel (39 off 34) and Dipendra Singh Airee (44 off 29) rebuilt with an 82-run third-wicket stand, but Sam Curran broke the partnership in the 15th over, dismissing Airee.
Despite Lokesh Bam’s valiant unbeaten 39 off 20 balls — featuring four boundaries and two sixes — Nepal finished on 180/6, falling agonisingly short by just four runs. Liam Dawson led England’s bowling with 2/21.
