England Relieved, Nepal Proud After T20 World Cup Thriller
"Full credit to Nepal. They were outstanding in the field and their running between the wickets was excellent, they just kept coming, That's World Cup cricket. We've seen it already in this tournament: almost every game is tight": Will Jacks
MUMBAI: England's Will Jacks said his team was both "relieved" and "happy" after beating a gutsy Nepal by four runs in their T20 World Cup thriller, while the Himalayan nation's Nandan Yadav expressed both "regret" and "pride" on his side's heroics here on Sunday. England, who scored 184 for 7 after batting first, may have thought they had the game in their bag but Nepal remained persistent throughout their chase to narrow it down to 10 runs off the final over.
Sam Curran executed his Yorkers perfectly as Nepal tripped on the finish line, but it was a game in which England survived a massive scare before winning.
"Full credit to Nepal. They were outstanding in the field and their running between the wickets was excellent, they just kept coming, That's World Cup cricket. We've seen it already in this tournament: almost every game is tight," Jacks told reporters after the match.
Asked if England had a feeling of relief or accomplishment, Jacks said, "Relief and happiness. We came into this game to win, and we did. Job done. But also, it's part of preparation for what's to come because we know we'll be in similar situations again."
Jacks praised Curran for his accuracy in tense moments of a thrilling finish.
"He's very calm in pressure situations and thinks very clearly. He understands the game extremely well. He showed that again today."
Nandan promised his side will improve from this experience.
"There is regret because we came very close and couldn't get over the line, but at the same time there is pride because we are competing against very strong teams like England. Being that close shows, we are improving, so overall it's a mix of pride and regret," he said.
Nandan said Nepal need to improve on their death overs bowling in particular, after giving away 45 runs in the last three overs.
"For me personally, there is a lot of talk about my wide balls, so that's something I need to work on. As a bowling unit, we need to focus more on death overs. We tend to concede more runs there, so that's an area we must improve. But it's part of the game and we accept it," he said.
Nandan hailed the presence of 17,000-strong crowd with mostly Nepal fans backing their side to get over the line.
"That's the love of our crowd. Wherever we go, it feels like a home ground. I am very thankful to all the supporters. I want to say sorry for the result, but we will improve. The crowd is amazing. They love cricket and the atmosphere. We are really grateful to them," he said.
"We are improving in a good way. Matches like this are good for us and for the crowd as well. It shows our standard is going up. If we keep playing like this, the next games will also be good for us," he added.
