Rhinos hit the ground running

Nepal pushed England all the way to the end in their opening match at the T20 World Cup 2026, ultimately losing by four runs chasing 185. 

Lokesh Bam and Karan KC were at the pitch needing 10 off the last over, from at one point needing 60 off the last 30. An ice-cold Sam Curran gave nothing away. 

It was a game appreciated at home and at the stands in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, where an audience of almost 17,000 Nepalis turned up to cheer for the team. 

Post-game, Nepal have now earned the respect of the cricketing world, and the team can take a lot of confidence going into their three remaining group games against Italy, The West Indies, and Scotland. 

England won the toss and chose to bat first at the batter-friendly Wankhede. 

“We feel like the pitch is going to be in the best shape in the first innings,” England captain Harry Brooks said ahead of the match. 

Much like Nepal, the England team has a lot of all-rounders and bat deep. 

Openers Phil Salt and Jos Buttler are currently the second and third best T20 batsmen as ranked by ICC. With Salt out for 1 off 2, and Buttler a modest 26 off 17, there is almost a sense that England underscored. 

Jacob Bethell’s 55 off 35, Harry Brook’s 53 off 32, and crucially, Will Jacks’ 39 off 18 finishing knock propelled the English score to 184. 

Highlights in the Nepali bowling included spinner Sher Malla’s wicket of Salt off his debut ball, although he went for fourteen in the rest of his over. Sandeep Lamichhane struck Tom Banton out lbw off his first ball, and maintained a characteristically low economy rate of 6.25 per over. Nandan Yadav had 2 for 25 in three, and Airee had 2 for 23 in three.

Nepal took regular wickets, but this failed to keep the score down because they also gave away too many easy balls that were punished ruthlessly by the English batsmen. 

Some of the decisions were a little questionable. All-rounder Kushal Bhurtel bowled out all of his four overs and went for 40 runs, taking no wickets — surely Airee or Yadav would have fared better. 

And opting for spin in the last over would have been a brave choice, but perhaps the correct one, given that Karan KC went for 21. 

Nepal had a will-they-won’t-they batting innings. Kushal Bhurtel got them off to a lovely start with 29 off 17, and Rohit Paudel’s steady 39 off 34 held it all together. 

Airee shone again with 44 off 29, further cementing his importance in the team. Lokesh Bam’s 39 off 20 almost brought the team back from an impossible position. Young Gulshan Jha was disappointing with 1 off 2. The ball he got bowled out, the last ball of the second-to-last over was very hittable, and would have made the last over much easier. 

Veteran fast bowler Jofra Archer and spinner Adil Rashid got hit hard around the pitch. Left-arm spinner Liam Dawson and Sam Curran were excellent, giving away only 21 and 27 runs off their four overs, taking a wicket each. 

England were visibly relieved at the end, and Nepal heartbroken at having come so close to what would have been the nation’s greatest ever sporting moment. 

But the loss should not take nothing away from the magnitude of the performance. It was still surreal seeing Nepal competing at the largest stage against the mighty Brits. Nepali fans packed the stands, having traveled on planes and automobiles to support their team, decked out in the stands with Nepali flags and Dhaka Topi.

“It wasn’t easy at all, thankfully we got over the line. They put us in a tricky situation. I thought we were in a very good position to defend that, didn’t think it would go as close,” said Brooks post match.

“Result-wise, it didn’t go our way, but effort-wise, 100% on fielding, bowling and batting. I think we’ll improve from there. Teams in this tournament will not take any teams lightly. The fans are very passionate,” summed up Nepal captain Rohit Paudel. 

The performance further vindicated the controversial decision to have a twenty-team world cup. Ex-Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, for one, had thought that the format would lead to too many one-sided matches, resulting in low viewership. 

But Nepal against England was the third impressive showing in only two days by an associate nation, after The Netherlands and The USA scared stalwarts Pakistan and India on Saturday. 

The team's performance on Sunday will also positively make the next season of the Nepal Premier League more marketable as well as bring bigger names having seen Nepal perform exceptionally well internationally against better teams.

Nepal now stand third in Group C, after The West Indies beat Scotland on Saturday by 35 runs. Italy are yet to play. They are Nepal’s next opponents, on 12 February. 

The math now is pretty simple. Only the top two teams progress past the group stage. For Nepal to move forward, they must win all three of their remaining matches.