'Unbelievable' Sam Curran closes out win as death-bowling proves difference

In the end, it boiled down to Karan KC vs Curran, SM. With only four runs to separate England and Nepal in Mumbai, the contrast between the two teams' 20th overs was unavoidable. Karan's cost 21, including three towering sixes from Will Jacks, while Curran repeatedly hit the blockhole and conceded only five runs as England closed out a nerve-jangling win.

Both captains acknowledged that it had been the difference between the two teams, hailing Curran's defensive skills under immense pressure. "Unbelievable," Harry Brook said. "We were both fairly calm out there. He knew exactly what he was going to try and do, and he executed outstandingly."

Rohit Paudel highlighted it as an area for improvement. "England were also struggling with the death-over bowling but [in the] last over, Sam Curran bowled really well," he said. "It is hard for bowlers in the death overs to bowl, especially… to execute those yorkers, those slower bouncers. We missed on that part, but at the same time, I think we'll improve from there."

Curran revealed that he had taken unlikely inspiration from Ben Stokes' final over in the 2016 T20 World Cup final, when he missed his yorkers while attempting a similar gameplan and was hit for four successive sixes by Carlos Brathwaite to hand West Indies the title.

"I said to Brooky, 'I'm backing six yorkers here, and I'll take the hit if I don't execute'. I think you've got to think like that," Curran told the BBC's Test Match Special.

"I weirdly thought of the 2016 final, when Carlos got hold of Stokesy, and I was thinking, 'Well, if I execute, he's not going to hit me for six.' At the top of my mark, I just watched [the batter's] feet and thankfully executed. Those games are great if you win, but it would have been a horrible one to lose."

Curran said that Nepal's near-miss showed "how competitive this World Cup is going to be" after narrow defeats for Netherlands and USA against Pakistan and India respectively on Saturday. "Fair play to Nepal, they were absolutely incredible," he said. "I was pretty nervous there, but we got it done.

"It just shows the strength in depth in world cricket at the moment. The Associate nations are playing more often and they're getting so much better. They're getting exposed to better cricket and better grounds… They are a dangerous team throughout this World Cup so we'll watch out for them."

Curran did not come into the attack until the 12th over but ended with figures of 1 for 27, taking the vital wicket of Dipendra Singh Airee after a stand worth 81 with Paudel. Brook had to juggle his bowling options around, not least with Adil Rashid leaking 42 runs in his three wicketless overs, but said that he had managed to stay calm amid the carnage.

"I said, 'We put two or three wickets on this and it all changes', and we didn't quite get the rewards," Brook said. "But we managed to stick to our guns and we stayed calm out there.

"We have so many options out there. I don't think Sam bowled until a lot later on than usual in the 20 overs. Obviously it wasn't ideal Rash getting a little bit of tap there; it's not often that he doesn't bowl four overs as well. It's just one of [those] days for him, and I'm sure he'll bounce back."

Paudel's decision to return to his seamers at the death proved costly, as Nepal conceded 45 runs off the final three overs. It felt like an oversight that Airee, who took 2 for 23 in his three overs of offspin, did not bowl his full quota, while Karan had no answer to Jacks' crisp ball-striking over the off side.

Jacks revealed just how close Nepal had been to bowling Airee in the final over. "I saw they were debating," he said. "I think the helmet [was] ran out and then went off, so obviously in hindsight, they might have done that. But all in all, they were tactically very good. They obviously pushed us right to the edge there."

England have attempted to mould Jacks into a No. 7 since Brook took over as captain in June, and his 39 not out off 18 balls was the second-highest score of his T20I career, earning him the player of the match award. "He hasn't done much of it, but the way that he batted at the end there has won us the game," Brook said.