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Nepal almost managed to pull off T20 World Cup 2026's first upset on February 8. Chasing 185 at Wankhede Stadium, Nepal lost the match by just four runs in the last-ball thriller. They earned a standing ovation from the Mumbai crowd which had plenty of support for Nepal. The stellar show led to legends praising them for coming within touching distance of beating the two-time T20 World Cup champions. Legendary South Africa pacer Dale Steyn was in awe of Nepal's performance and offered his services to the team if they ever need them. While Nepal players were dejected after the loss, their pacer Nandan Yadav struggled to find words to express how he felt about the legend's ultimate praise.
“Nepal. I offer my services to you if you ever need em! Up, up and UP,” Steyn wrote on X.
“So that's a big thing for us. Someone, some legend, like he ruled the cricket for 10 years, and he is tweeting something like this. But it's like the can management team, so we can't approach him. Maybe we can, so I don't know how to answer this one,” Yadav said in the post-match press conference when he was informed about Steyn’s tweet.
Yadav gets big wickets
Yadav was impressive with the ball. He dismissed England's wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler with the new ball. Later, he got rid of English skipper Harry Brook who scored 53 runs from 32 balls. From three overs, he conceded 25 runs.
Nepal’s next T20 World Cup 2026 clash
Nepal's next Group C clash is against debutants Italy on February 12 at the same venue. The Rohit Paudel-led side will be looking to register their first win at T20 World Cups since 2014. Their last win at the mega event came against Afghanistan.
On the other hand, England will go up against West Indies at the same venue on February 11. West Indies had beaten Scotland by 35 runs at Kolkata's Eden Gardens in their campaign opener on February 7.
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