On a raucous early evening in front of a hugely one-sided crowd, Nepal so nearly provided the upset this World Cup needed and England were so desperate to avoid, as they seek to buff a tarnished winter into some kind of shine. As their captain, Rohit Paudel, had pointed out before the tournament began, the Nepalese are used to climbing mountains. Even on an awkward surface a target of 185 was pretty trivial by Himalayan standards.
A brave and sometimes brutal batting performance, capped by a thrilling and so nearly decisive contribution from the aptly named Lokesh Bam, hauled them to within touching distance of the summit. In the end they needed 10 off the last over, having plundered 46 off the previous three. But Sam Curran held his nerve where so many of his teammates had wobbled and England won, in the end, by just four runs.
