T20 World Cup 2026 – England survive Nepal scare to clinch last-over thriller


England 184 for 7 (Bethell 55, Brook 53, Jacks 39*) beat Nepal 180 for 6 (Airee 44, Bam 39*, Paudel 39) by four runs

Nepal came within a single blow of pulling off the biggest win in their sporting history, falling agonisingly short of chasing 185 against England in Mumbai. They needed 13 off the last nine balls after Lokesh Bam‘s late assault, but Sam Curran‘s nerveless, five-run final over allowed England to breathe a huge sigh of relief as they made a winning start to the T20 World Cup.

Tasked with chasing a stiff target after half-centuries from Jacob Bethell and Harry Brook, Nepal came out swinging. Kushal Bhurtel set the tone by hitting three boundaries in four balls off Jofra Archer, before Dependra Singh Airee and Rohit Paudel’s superb stand – worth 82 off 54 balls – left 62 runs required off the final six overs.

When both men fell in the space of eight balls, the game looked as good as done. But nobody told Bam, who hit consecutive streaky boundaries off Curran before launching Archer for two towering sixes. Luke Wood’s 19th over cost 14 runs as he struggled to find his line, slashed away for two more boundaries by Bam, leaving 10 required off the last.

But Curran stuck to his yorker plan at the death, leaving Bam needing to clear the ropes off the last ball. He could only toe-end it out to deep extra cover, and England celebrated a nerve-jangling win. It was more heartbreak for Nepal, after their one-run defeat to South Africa in St Vincent in the 2024 edition of this tournament, but they ran England incredibly close.

More to follow…


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *