Nepal's growing reputation on the world stage earned fresh praise from England all-rounder Sam Curran, who admitted Nepal "really challenged" England and took their World Cup opener right down to the last over.
Speaking after the match, Curran said England entered the game "a little bit in the unknown," but later reflected with relief on taking the two points. “Fair play. Nepal really challenged us,” he said, describing it as a tense start to the tournament and one that England will learn from quickly.
"Nepal guys played our spinners and seamers so well"
Curran revealed England chose to bat first believing the surface looked “a little bit used” after watching an earlier match between India and the USA on the same ground. England felt they had a competitive total, but Nepal’s chase flipped the script.
"The Nepal guys played our spinners so well and our seamers," Curran said, adding that Nepal's approach kept England under pressure deep into the innings. According to Curran, Nepal's batting never let the required rate run away - and that's what made the finish so nerve-wracking.
Nepal's running and boundary options kept England on edge
One of Curran's strongest takeaways was Nepal’s intent between the wickets. He pointed to the middle-overs phase where Nepal repeatedly turned ones into twos, tested boundary riders, and kept finding the occasional boundary to stay right on par.
"They were just so quick between wickets," Curran said, describing how Nepal's batters maintained momentum on a smaller ground where "the ball does travel." Even when England tried to adjust fields and change pace with variations, Nepal continued to find scoring options in areas England "didn’t really expect."
The last over: yorkers, pressure, and execution
As the match tightened, Curran explained the mental weight of bowling the final over in a World Cup game - and why he backed a simple plan under pressure.
"With this scenario, let's just kind of back my execution," he said, revealing his preferred option was to commit to yorkers and keep the stumps in play. Curran also spoke about the tactical slowing down of the moment - including calling for a towel - as England tried to manage the noise and intensity of a "very loud" crowd that reminded him of IPL-like atmosphere.
In the end, Curran said the outcome came down to doing the basics under maximum pressure: "It came down to the execution."
