Former South African fast bowler Dale Steyn offered his services to Nepal after their stellar show against England in the T20 World Cup 2026 on Sunday, February 8. Chasing a huge 185 at the Wankhede Stadium, Nepal almost stunned the two-time T20 world champions but fell short by just four runs in the end.
Nepal had famously come within touching distance of beating South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2024 when they fell just a run short of the 115 that the eventual finalists Proteas had made in their Group D encounter. They were once again at the threshold of achieving their biggest ever cricketing feat against the English side with a jaw-dropping batting show in the Group C clash in 2026.
Nepal needed 46 runs off the last three overs and made a stellar comeback despite being four down and staring down the barrel. However, Aarif Sheikh and Lokesh Bam collected 22 runs of Jofra Archer's 18th over and the latter took 14 runs off the 19th over of Luke Wood and needed 10 runs to clinch the win.
However, Sam Curran displayed his brilliance as he unleashed yorkers in the final over to stunningly defend those runs and handed England a four-run win over the minnows.
While Nepal could not have won the match, they surely won lakhs of hearts with their amazing show, highlighting they have the mettle to defeat some of the top teams in the world and are not here to just participate in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Steyn was among the former cricketers who fell in awe with Nepal for their effort. Taking to X, he posted, "Nepal, I offer my services to you if you ever need em! Up, up and UP!"
England captain Harry Brook also heaped praise on the effort of the Rohit Paudel-led team. “It wasn't easy at all, thankfully, we got over the line. They played extremely well, not many teams take Adil Rashid down the way they did. They put us in a tricky situation. I thought we were in a very good position to defend that, didn't think it would go as close. I wish them all the best for the rest of the competition,” Brook said in the post-match presentation ceremony," he said after the match.
