Nepal lost the match by just four runs.
Just two days into the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, and the associated nations have put up a great show so far. After two commendable efforts from the Netherlands and the United States of America (USA), Nepal also produced a brilliant display to almost clinch the match against England.
The team had reduced England to 64/3 after seven overs with three early wickets of Phi Salt, Jos Buttler, and Tom Banton. But a 71-run partnership off 45 balls between Jacob Bethell and skipper Harry Brook shifted the momentum towards the 2022 champions. Eventually, a late surge from Will Jacks (39 off 18) propelled their total to 184/7.
While chasing, Dipendra Singh Airee (44 off 29) and Lokesh Bam (39 off 20) looked all set to pull off a heist, following opener Kushal Bhurtel’s fiery start (29 off 17). But at the end, they fell short by just five runs to achieve the massive feat. Previously, they also came close to defeating South Africa in the last edition’s T20 World Cup. But the eventual runners-up managed to win the match by just one run.
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Nepal have already earned the tag of “the cardiac kids” for taking their matches till the very last moment, and their T20 World Cup 2026 opener once again proved the dictum. Notably, the legendary South African speedster, Dale Steyn, has also acknowledged their outstanding effort in the ENG vs NEP clash.
However, the side is coming off a red-hot form, winning both of their warm-up matches against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Canada. Rohit Paudel and Co. will face Italy in their next fixture of the T20 World Cup 2026 on February 12 at the same venue. Nepal would want to put up a similar fight to get off the mark in the mega ICC T20 championship.
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