Nepal came within a whisker of scripting one of the biggest upsets in ICC Men's T20 World Cup history, but England held their nerve to win by 4 runs in a last-ball thriller at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing 185, Nepal finished on 180/6 (20 overs) after a counter-attacking middle-order assault led by Dipendra Singh Airee (44 off 29), captain Rohit Paudel (39 off 34) and a fearless late charge from Lokesh Bam (39* off 20). England, after posting 184/7, were rescued by a composed final over from Sam Curran, denying Nepal at the death.
England post 184/7, Nepal stay in the hunt
England's innings was powered by fluent half-centuries from Jacob Bethell (55) and Harry Brook (53), with Will Jacks (39 off 18)* providing late fireworks. Nepal, however, refused to let the scoring run away — Dipendra Singh Airee (2/23) and Nandan Yadav (2/25) struck at key moments, while Sandeep Lamichhane (1/25) kept things tight through the middle.
Record-breaking stands ignite Nepal’s chase
Nepal’s chase began at pace. Kushal Bhurtel (29 off 17) and Aasif Sheikh (7 off 9) added 37 for the first wicket, a new Nepal record for an opening partnership at the Men’s T20 World Cup — surpassing the previous mark of 36 set by Subash Khakurel and Sagar Pun.
After early wickets, the match swung in Nepal’s favour through a superb 82-run third-wicket partnership between Rohit Paudel and Dipendra Singh Airee, now Nepal’s highest third-wicket stand in Men’s T20 World Cup history, breaking the earlier record of 80 shared by Paras Khadka and Gyanendra Malla.
Airee’s innings carried added significance: he became the first Nepali batter to cross 2000 T20I runs, and later in the match also climbed to the top of Nepal’s Men’s T20 World Cup wicket-takers list.
Airee tops Nepal’s World Cup wicket chart; Paudel sets captaincy milestone
With his spell of 2/23, Airee now has 8 wickets in Men’s T20 World Cup matches — the most by a Nepali player — moving past Sompal Kami (7).
Meanwhile, Rohit Paudel set another landmark by becoming Nepal’s most-capped captain at the Men’s T20 World Cup, playing his 4th match as skipper, going past Paras Khadka.
Bam’s late blitz, but England escape
Just when Nepal looked poised to finish the job, England found timely breakthroughs and dragged the game into a high-pressure final over. Lokesh Bam’s 39 off 20* kept Nepal alive deep into the chase, but with the equation tightening, Curran executed his yorkers and variations well enough to seal a narrow win — leaving Nepal heartbreakingly short after a near-perfect fightback.
Player of the Match: Will Jacks — 39 (18)* and 1/17 (2 overs).
