Harry Brook lauds Nepal's batters after T20 WC thriller
What's the story
England captain Harry Brook has praised the performance of Nepal's batters in their T20 World Cup opener at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. The match saw England narrowly escaping a defeat, winning by just four runs after setting a challenging target of 185. Brook was particularly surprised by how well Nepal's players handled their star spinner Adil Rashid, who went wicketless in his three overs.
Match analysis
'They played extremely well,' said Brook
Brook said, "It wasn't easy at all, thankfully got over the line. They played extremely well and not many teams take Adil Rashid like they did." He added that he thought his team was in a good position to defend their score and wished Nepal all the best for the rest of the tournament.
Game highlights
Rashid had an off day, added Brook
England's innings was bolstered by aggressive fifties from Jacob Bethell and Brook himself, along with an 18-ball cameo of 39 runs from Will Jacks. However, Brook also noted that Rashid had an off day as he was hit for runs and couldn't complete his full quota of overs. He said, "Rashid got a tap there and it's not often that he doesn't bowl four overs."
Captain's statement
We didn't come here just to participate, said Paudel
Nepal's captain Rohit Paudel said he was proud of his team's effort against England. He said, "We had the belief when we came to this World Cup. We didn't come here just to participate." Paudel added that their strategy was to keep wickets in hand with 10 runs per over in the last few overs and they didn't plan on taking on Rashid but it just happened.
Player's perspective
Full credit to Nepal, says Jacks
Man of the Match Jacks praised Nepal for their impressive performance against England. He said, "Full credit to Nepal. They were absolutely brilliant." On his own batting performance, he said it was nice to spend some time in the middle and keep things simple. When asked if Nepal missed a trick by bowling pace in the last over, which went for 21 runs, Jacks said they were tactically very good.