England's innings experienced a mid-innings stutter as Nepal's bowlers, led by Dipendra Singh Airee, applied pressure and stemmed the flow of runs in their T20 World Cup 2026match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on February 8, 2026.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, England got off to a shaky start, losing both openers, Philip Salt and Jos Buttler, within the first five overs. Sher Malla struck on his very first ball in T20I cricket, dismissing Salt for 1, while Nandan Yadav removed Buttler for 26. Jacob Bethell then steadied the ship with an aggressive innings, forming crucial partnerships with Jos Buttler and captain Harry Brook.

Bethell reached his half-century, scoring 55 off 35 balls, including 4 fours and 4 sixes, before Dipendra Singh Airee dismissed him. Bethell looked to go "downtown" but miscued his shot to long on, where Lokesh Bam took a simple catch. This ended a 71-run partnership that had propelled England to a strong position.

Airee struck again soon after, removing Sam Curran for just 2 runs. Curran dragged one back onto his stumps, leaving England at 137/5. According to reports, Curran "never looked settled at the crease".

These quick wickets allowed Nepal to regain control and apply pressure on the English middle order. However, Harry Brook continued to push the score along, eventually reaching his own half-century off 32 balls. Brook was then dismissed by Nandan Yadav for 53, caught by Sher Malla, preventing England from pulling away.

Will Jacks provided some late fireworks, smashing 39 off 18 balls, including three sixes in the final over, to boost England's total. England finished their innings on 184/7 after 20 overs.

Despite the late surge, Nepal's bowlers, particularly Dipendra Singh Airee (2/19) and Nandan Yadav (1/13), managed to restrict England's scoring and prevent them from reaching a potentially larger total. Sher Malla also had 1/35 in 3 overs. England will now look to their bowlers to defend the total.