England vs Nepal, 5th Match, Group C, ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 - Commentary

Phew! USA threatened India yesterday. Nepal almost pulled it off against England today. How far are we from an upset? Sri Lanka are playing Ireland at the moment. Can the Irish spring a surprise tonight? We shift focus to that game now. Come join us! See you!

Harry Brook | England Captain - It wasn't easy at all, but thankfully we got over the line. They played extremely well and I just heard you say that not many teams take out Adil Rashid down the way they did. And I thought that they played against him outstandingly. And they put us in a tricky situation for quite a few occasions there as well. Definitely, I thought we were in a very good position to be able to defend that (on the thought during the break). And I didn't quite think it was going to go as close as that, but hats off to the Nepalese team. They played extremely well and I wish them all the best for the rest of the competition. Awesome. Beth played outstanding. The way that he was rocking back and smacking the spinners into the stands was really nice to watch. And then the way that Jacksy just slipped into his role there, number seven. He hasn't done much of it, but the way that he batted at the end there was where he won us the game. I just said, we put two or three wickets on this and it all changes (on what was said at the second drinks break). And we didn't quite get our rewards, but we managed to stick to our guns and we stayed calm out there. We have so many options out there. I don't think Sam (Curran) bowled until a lot later on than usual in the 20 overs. But obviously it wasn't ideal. Rash (Rashid) getting a little bit of tap there. It's not often that he doesn't bowl four overs as well. So look, it's just one of those days for him and I'm sure he'll bounce back better. Unbelievable. And we were both fairly calm out there. We knew exactly what he was going to try and do and they executed outstandingly (on Curran's death over bowling).

Rohit Paudel | Nepal captain: Disappointment is there but at the same time very proud of the team. The way the boys showed their effort against England. That takes a lot of appreciation. I think when we stepped out today in the ground, the only message to the group was, whatever we have, we'll give a 110% in the ground. And I think boys have given all what they had. And that's what makes them different. And I'm very proud of them. We had that belief when we came in this World Cup. We didn't come here to just participate. We wanted to compete. And we had that belief in the group that we can beat any of the sides if we play our best brand of cricket. And I thought today we played our best brand of cricket. I think today, overall, if you see the result-wise, it didn't go our way. But efforts-wise, I would give 100% for fielding, bowling, and batting. (Is there anything they could have done differently in the death bowling) Yes, I think in that area, we can improve. I thought England were also struggling with the death overs bowling. But last over, Sam Curran bowled really well. So I thought it's hard for bowlers in death overs to bowl, especially in the death overs to execute those Yorkers, those slow bouncers. So I thought we missed on that part, but at the same time, I think we'll improve from there. (On his plan with Dipendra during their partnership) We were just calculating. For the last five overs, we wanted wickets in hand and at least 10 or 12 runs per over. So we were discussing about that only. And we were targeting first two balls for boundaries and just stretch the overs. (Was it a plan to take on Adil Rashid) No, it was not a particular plan to take on Adil Rashid. But it happened. And we thought as a group (Me and Dipendra) that we could take him on today. And it went well for us. (Playing Italy next) Yeah, absolutely. I think we will not take any of the teams lightly. And I think all other teams in this tournament will not take any of the associate teams or any teams lightly. So that's the message. But we as a team need to be on our 100%. (Word to the fans) They are very passionate. If you see today, the whole of Kathmandu, the whole of Nepal came here to support us. And it's great to see them here. And that motivates us. When we went to the ground, we carry your hopes. We carry your belief. And I think today we gave everything. And I think today all of Nepal will be very proud of all of us.

Wil Jacks | Player of the Match - I think full credit to Nepal. They were absolutely brilliant. We saw that this was tricky when we batted, but they played against us really very well and they really took us close there. They played brilliantly. It's nice to spend some time in the middle (on his batting). I've been a bit short over the last month or so and by keeping it simple, the guys in the middle have described to me what it's like out there, so just let the ball come, nice and easy to do it. I think you don't get the answer to that one. It was very tough as hell. I saw they were debating (if he felt Nepal missed a trick by bowling pace in the last over). I think the helmet ran out and then ran off, so obviously in hindsight they might have done that, but all in all they were tactically very good. They've obviously pushed us right to the edge there. I think if the surfaces are going to continue to behave like that, then that's going to be crucial going forward (on the pitch). There's obviously a lot of games to be played in this World Cup and Dawson was absolutely brilliant today. And I think having that adaptability is going to hopefully leave us in good stead. (on his new hairstyle) And the new haircut has gone pretty well. One from one with a new hairdo. Hopefully that contributes to a few more wins.

Lowest victory margins for a FM team vs Associate team in T20 WC (by runs)
1 run - SA vs NEP, Kingstown, 2024
4 runs - ENG vs NEP, Mumbai WS, 2026
6 runs - SA vs NED, Chattogram, 2014
8 runs - BAN vs NED, Dharamsala, 2016

Highest team totals for Associates vs FM teams in T20 WC
186/6 - AFG vs ZIM, Nagpur, 2016
180/5 - SCOT vs AUS, Gros Islet, 2024
180/6 - NEP vs ENG, Mumbai WS, 2026
176/5 - SCOT vs IRE, Hobart, 2022
176/6 - USA vs SA, North Sound, 2024

- 180 is the highest team total without an individual 50-plus score for an Associate team in T20 WC, surpassing Afghanistan’s 172 all-out against South Africa at this venue in 2016.

Jofra Archer’s spell
140-plus kmph: 0/17, 11 balls, ER: 9.3
120-139 kmph: 1/1, 5 balls, ER: 1.2
Under 120 kmph: 0/21, 8 balls, ER: 15.75
*excluding wides

184 seemed distant for Nepal at the innings break but when Bhurtel smashed Archer for three fours in his first over, it made everyone rethink. And then Luke Wood got taken for 15 runs in the follow up over. England were sweating but Dawson and Jacks put the brakes on the scoring with quick strikes. Rohit and Dipendra combined for an excellent stand. When Nepal lost two wickets to spin, England thought they could attack further Adil Rashid but the Nepal batters stunned them by smashing him for 42 runs in just 3 overs. Sam Curran and Dawson bowled two cheap overs to concede six runs. The Nepal batters were struggling to hit the cutters off the pacers but Lokesh Bam led a late charge and Jofra Archer went the distance for 22 runs in his final over to give a lot of hope. When it came down to 10 needed off the last over, Curran bowled some pinpoint yorkers and Lokesh couldn't put them away.

18:34 Local Time, 13:04 GMT: Nepal - it comes to that final over with the ball. They could have given it to Dipendra but they went with Karan and he got smacked for 21 runs. The last ball went for a six as well and Nepal lose by a mere 4 runs. They look so disappointed. They had great support today from the fans who turned up in full voices. The energy at the ground almost resembled the levels of an India game at the Wankhede but it's so near yet so far. They lost to South Africa by 1 run in 2024, they fail to close it out by 4 runs against England now. They did so well to keep England in check until the last 3 overs with the ball where they leaked 45 runs.

Another meeting between Brook, Curran and Buttler. They want clarity on this ball. Meanwhile Rohit Paudel encourages Lokesh Bam from the dugout by clapping. McCullum relaying messages

Curran is nailing those yorkers. Nepal need at least one boundary here. Brook and Curran have a discussion. Why are they breaking the flow now? He was bowling well. 6 off 2

Just 2 runs off the first 3 balls. Lokesh has to take strike for the rest of the over for Nepal to have a chance. He just wants Curran to miss the yorker by a yard

It's Karan v Curran with Nepal needed 9 runs off 4 balls

10 off 5 now. It's about a couple of good hits for Nepal but they need to pick the right balls