New Delhi: England narrowly avoided a major upset in the Group C match of the 2026 T20 World Cup, defeating Nepal by 4 runs at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, February 8. Sam Curran bowled a brilliant last over, defending 10 runs against a well set Lokesh Bam and Karan KC as Nepal fell 4 runs short of the 185-run target.

Nepal needed 46 runs off 18 balls, when Aarif Sheikh smashed a maximum over square on the first ball, before getting out on the next. Lokesh then hit two consecutive maximums on the last two deliveries against Jofra Archer as the pacer conceded 22 runs in the 18th over. Luke Wood also gave away 14 runs in the penultimate over but picked up a wicket on the last ball, removing Gulsan Jha for one run.

Chasing the target, Nepal got off to a flying start as Bhurtel smashed Archer for three boundaries in his first over. Luke Wood also conceded 15 runs in the follow-up over. England were sweating in the powerplay, but Dawson and Jacks stopped the quick run-scoring in the powerplay. Dawson removed Aasif Sheikh for 7 runs in the fourth over, and Will Jacks dismissed dangerous Bhurtel for 27.

Dipendra Singh and Rohit Paudel then stitched an 82-run partnership for the third wicket. After Nepal lost two wickets to spin, Harry Brook brought in Adil Rashid to tighten the grip on the match, but Nepal batters hit him for 42 runs in three overs.

Sam Curran and Dawson bowled two good overs, conceding just six runs. The Nepal batters were struggling to hit the cutters against the pacers, but Lokesh Bam batted brilliantly in the end to give his team hope. When 10 runs were needed in the final over, Sam Curran bowled pinpoint yorkers and helped England to start their campaign with a victory.

(more to follow)