T20 World Cup: Scare galore! Nepal lose to England by four runs

MUMBAI: It was a ‘Himalayan effort’ by the Himalayan kingdom. Nestled between India and China (Tibet), Nepal, a landlocked South Asian nation, is famous for its beautiful landscape, which includes 10 of the highest peaks on earth, including Mount Everest.

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Judging by the way they began their campaign in the 2026 T20 World Cup on Sunday, with both their talented team and enthusiastic fans stealing the show, Nepal will now also be known as a cricketing nation.




Chasing 185, they finished on 180 for 6 in 20 overs, falling just one hit short of what would have been one of the biggest upsets in T20 World Cup history. Nepal needed 10 off the last six balls with Lokesh Bam on 39 not out off 20 balls, but Curran held his nerve with yorkers and fuller deliveries and conceded only five runs and did not allow a boundary.

Curran returned 1-27 in four overs. Jofra Archer conceded 1-42 in four overs, while Adil Rashid went for 0-42 in three overs.

Nepal’s chase gathered momentum when they took 22 off the 18th over bowled by Archer, with Aarif Sheikh hitting a six and then Lokesh striking two more. Lokesh struck two fours off Luke Wood, but Wood struck a key blow off the last ball when he dislodged the off stump of Gulsan Jha with a crossseam yorker.

For England, Jacks, adjudged Player of the Match, helped them add 45 off the final three overs. Batting at No 7, he made 39 not out off 21 balls with four sixes and one four. Three of those sixes came in the final over as he hit Karan KC for 21 off the last six balls. With the ball, Jacks took 1-17 in two overs and dismissed Kushal Bhurtel, who made 29 off 17 balls with four fours and one six, caught off his own bowling.

After Bhurtel’s dismissal, Nepal captain Rohit Paudel scored 39 off 34 balls with two fours and two sixes, while Dipendra Singh Airee hit 44 off 29 balls with six fours and one six. They added 82 runs for the fifth wicket in 54 balls.

Earlier, England elected to bat first and made 184-7. Jacob Bethell scored 55 off 35 balls with four fours and four sixes, while captain Harry Brook made 53 off 32 balls with four fours and three sixes.

England were 57 for 3 before Brook and Bethell added 71 for the fourth wicket off 45 balls.

Nepal struck early when Phil Salt was caught at short fine leg off off-spinner Sher Malla, making his T20I debut, on the first ball of Malla’s second over.

Nepal’s fielders held all their catches, while Airee took 2-24 in four overs, Yadav 2-25 in four overs and Lamichhane 1-25 in four overs.

Nepal’s fans formed a majority of the 17,008 crowd at the Wankhede and included supporters who travelled from Kathmandu and London.

Wearing blue jerseys with a dash of red, they cheered Nepal’s boundaries, and after the match Nepal’s players took a lap of the ground to acknowledge the support.

1039 - Jos Buttler has become the fourth batter to complete 1000+ runs in T20 World Cup — his tally being 1039 at an average of 41.56 in 35 innings. He has joined Virat Kohli (1292), Rohit Sharma (1220) and Mahela Jayawardene (1016).


Get the latest ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 updates, including the full schedule, teams, live scores, points table, and key series stats such as top run-scorers and wicket-takers.