England beat Nepal by four runs; avoid shock at T20 World Cup | ICC Men’s T20 World Cup News
Lokesh Bam’s late heroics with the bat are not enough as Nepal are beaten by two-time champions in their Group C match in Mumbai.
Published On 8 Feb 2026
Nepal were left heartbroken after they came agonisingly close to pulling off a massive T20 World Cup upset against England but fell short by four runs as the two-time champions won the Group C match in Mumbai.
Lokesh Bam’s heroics with the bat – 39 runs off 20 balls – were not enough to see Nepal over the line at the Wankhede Stadium, which was packed with Nepalese fans on Sunday.
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Nepal finished on 180-6, handing England a nervy win to kick off their campaign in the controversy-hit cricket tournament.
When England’s captain Harry Brook (53) and teammate Jacob Bethell (55) hit fifties to power England to 184-7, they seemingly did enough to take the match out of Nepal’s reach.
But Rohit Paudel produced a captain’s innings of his own as he, alongside star all-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee, put Nepal on course for a shock win.
The pair’s departure slowed down Nepal’s progress, but Lokesh resumed the big hitting against some wayward bowling by England’s seamers.
Needing 10 off the last over, the Rhinos were unable to get Sam Curran’s accurate bowling over the boundary and could only score six runs.
The Rhinos’ fans, hundreds of whom had travelled from across the border, were left disheartened.
Earlier, electing to bat at the Wankhede Stadium, England slumped to 57-3 in the seventh over to find themselves in a spot of bother.
Sher Malla struck with the first ball on his World Cup debut, dismissing Phil Salt for one, and the pressure mounted on England after Jos Buttler and Tom Banton fell in quick succession.
Bethell had no problem adjusting to the nature of the track, where other batters found shot-making difficult. He and Brook combined in a 71-run partnership during their 45-ball collaboration to rebuild their innings.
Airee (44) and skipper Paudel (39) kept Nepal in the hunt with a stand of 82 from 54 balls.
Curran brought relief to the English camp when he had Airee caught in the deep and Paudel also departed soon afterwards.
Bam hit Jofra Archer for back-to-back sixes to turn the match on its head.
With Nepal needing 10 runs off the last over from Curran, Bam needed to hit the last ball for a six, but he managed only one as England heaved a huge sigh of relief.