Nepal produced what captain Paras Khadka called “one of the biggest sporting moments in our history,” squeaking through to the semi-finals of the World T20 qualifiers, beating Hong Kong by five wickets off the very last ball.
A place in the last four was secondary though; a spot at the World Twenty20 next year in Bangladesh - their first-ever appearance at that level - was the real prize and it will not matter much that it is in the first round and not the Super 10s stage.
“I’m lost for words, this is unbelievable,” Khadka said. “It’s a dream come true for all of us. We have worked so hard for it. It is one of the biggest sporting moments in our history. We are very proud of it.”
Khadka should be prouder than most, his unflustered 46 guiding them through the trickiest parts of a chase of 144. But it was his run-out in the penultimate over that threatened to derail what had been a nervy chase. Nepal had heroes all over the place but the one that mattered was in place for the final over: Sharad Vesawker faced up to Haseeb Amjad needing 13.
Off the first ball he lofted one to long-on, where the fielder inadvertently palmed the ball over for six. An inside-edged boundary next made the equation simpler, but excellent yorkers from Haseeb Amjad meant the winning run came only off the last ball.
It was fitting reward not only for their broader progress but also for their performance in this game. For 18 overs they had bowled and fielded with laudable zest. That ensured that Hong Kong’s innings never really took off, despite a number of impressive starts.
Only Tanwir Afzal’s last-gasp bludgeoning, which yielded 29 runs in the last two overs, led them to a defendable total. Right until Vesawker’s six it looked a winning one, Nepal’s dream at an end, Hong Kong’s ready to bloom.
But with their ever-present raucous support - at least a 1000 Nepalese fans were at the Shaikh Zayed Stadium - at fevered pitch throughout, it seemed inevitable they would get through.
