T20 World Cup 2026: England evade Nepal scare in Mumbai
What's the story
In what could have been an anti-climax, England beat Nepal in their opening ICC T20 World Cup 2026 encounter. The Harry Brook-led side defended 184 at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. Sam Curran stopped Nepal from getting 10 runs in the final over. Despite the defeat, Nepal rode on the heroics of skipper Rohit Paudel, Dipendra Singh Airee, and Lokesh Bam. Here are the key stats.
Start
Steady start from Nepal
Facing a strong English bowling attack, Nepal had a bright start. Openers Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh added 37 runs in quick time. However, spinner Liam Dawson dismissed Sheikh (7) in the fourth over. Meanwhile, Bhurtel's counter-attacking knock (29 off 17 balls) was ended by Will Jacks in the sixth over. The next nine overs saw the dominance of Nepal's batters.
Dominance
Dipendra, Paudel hammer England
Dipendra and Paudel kept Nepal's hopes alive with an 82-run stand (54 balls). The two batters took on the spinners, flaunting their riveting strokes. They duly rotated the strike while keeping the scoreboard in check. From 42/2, the duo took Nepal past 120. However, Sam Curran and Dawson dismissed Dipendra (44 off 29 balls) and Paudel (39 off 34 balls), respectively, in successive overs.
Finish
Lokesh Bam stars for Nepal
Although Nepal were down to 126/4 in the 16th over, Lokesh Bam had other plans. With 46 runs required off the last three overs, Bam hammered Jofra Archer for 3 sixes. Bam continued to attack Luke Wood when Nepal required 24 runs off 12 balls. Despite the dismissal of Gulsan Jha, Bam brought the equation down to 10 runs off the final over.
Information
Curran takes England to victory; Bam shines
Curran, who bowled the final over, conceded just three runs in his first three balls. He stopped Bam from sending the ball over the rope as England won by four runs. Nonetheless, Bam smashed a 20-ball 39* (1 four and 4 sixes).
Milestone
First Nepal batter with 2,000 T20I runs
Dipendra Singh Airee became the first batter to complete 2,000 T20I runs for Nepal. The Nepal batter now has 2,000 runs from 91 matches at an average of 32.25. His strike is nearly 140. Dipendra has 10 half-centuries and a ton in the format. Kushal Bhurtel is the only other Nepal batter with 1,800-plus runs (1,836) in T20Is.
England
Bethell rescues England after patchy start
Electing to bat first, England were in trouble early on, with Sher Malla sending Philip Salt back in the second over. However, Jacob Bethell mounted the pressure back on Nepal. He took England past 40 within five overs before Jos Buttler fell to Nandan Yadav. Another quick dismissal in the form of Tom Banton reduced England to 57/3 in the seventh over.
Half-century
Bethell's sublime half-century
Amid the turbulence, Bethell joined forces with skipper Harry Brook, as the duo produced 71 runs off 45 balls. After England crossed 120, Dipendra Singh dismissed Bethell, who smashed a 35-ball 55 (4 fours and 4 sixes). Bethell, who made his T20 World Cup debut, smashed his third T20I half-century. Across 24 T20Is, the left-handed batter has racked up 472 runs at 27.76.
Knocks
Captain's knock from Brook; Jacks shines
While Bethell and Curran departed in quick succession, Brook raced to his half-century off 31 balls in the 19th over. Right after completing his half-century off a maximum, Brook fell to Nandan Yadav. The England skipper slammed 53 off 32 balls (4 fours and 3 sixes). Will Jacks (39* off 18 balls) smashed 3 sixes in the final over, taking England to 184/7.
Buttler
Third-most runs in T20 World Cup
Earlier, Buttler's knock was cut short by Nandan. He departed for a 17-ball 26. With this, he became the third-highest run-scorer in T20 World Cup history, surpassing Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene (1,016). Playing his 36th game in the tournament, the former now has 1,039 runs at an average of 41.56. He is only behind India's Rohit Sharma (1,220) and Virat Kohli (1,292).