Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee plays a shot during the T20 World Cup cricket match between England and Nepal in Mumbai, India, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP) NEW DELHI: England survived a late scare from Nepal to open their World T20 campaign with a narrow four-run win at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, but the result did little to disguise how close the affiliate came to scripting a landmark upset.Chasing 185, Nepal needed 10 runs from the final over but Sam Curran didn’t let Lokesh Bam hit a single boundary in the last six balls. Nepal stayed in the contest until the very end, pushing England to the brink before collapsing.
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Chasing 185 for victory, Nepal ended on 180 for 6 with Lokesh not out on 39 off 20 balls with the help of four boundaries and two sixes.Dipendra Singh Airee scored a 29-ball 44 while captain Rohit Paudel made 39 off 34 balls.Earlier, England scored 184 for seven against Nepal in their opening T20 World Cup match.England batted first as Jacob Bethell (55 off 35 balls) and Harry Brook (53 off 32 balls) made significant contributions with the bat after Phil Salt was dismissed early at the Wankhede Stadium.Will Jacks was left out on 39 off 18 balls.
