England survive Nepal scare in T20 WC thriller as NZ, Lanka win

Two-time champions England survived a major scare before labouring to a four-run victory against a plucky Nepal in a Group C thriller at the Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday.

Captain Harry Brook (53) and number three batter Jacob Bethell (55) smashed fifties to power England to 184-7, which seemed beyond Nepal’s modest batting resources.

Lokesh Bam produced an unbeaten 39 off 20 balls, nearly pulling off an upset before Nepal finished on 180-6.

Earlier electing to bat at the Wankhede Stadium, England slumped to 57-3 in the seventh over to find themselves in a spot of bother.

Sher Malla struck with the first ball on his World Cup debut, dismissing Phil Salt for one, and the pressure mounted on England after Jos Buttler and Tom Banton fell in quick succession.

Bethell had no problem adjusting to the nature of the track, where other batters found shot-making difficult.

Bethell and Brook combined in a 71-run partnership during their 45-ball collaboration to rebuild their innings.

Bethell hit Kushal Bhurtel for back-to-back sixes to bring up his 28-ball fifty but quickly went out to the leg spinner.

Brook pulled Nandan Yadav to reach his fifty but fell immediately, offering a skier at deep point.

Will Jacks provided the late surge for England with an unbeaten 39 off 18 balls. The batter smashed four sixes, including three in the final over from Karan Chhetri.

Bhurtel (29) led Nepal’s charge when they returned to begin their chase.

The opener hit four fours and a six before his soft dismissal - when he stepped out against Jacks and checked his shot, giving a simple return catch to the spinner.

Dipendra Singh Airee (44) and skipper Rohit Paudel (39) kept Nepal in the hunt with a stand of 82 from 54 balls.

Sam Curran brought relief to the English camp when he had Airee caught in the deep and Paudel also departed soon.

Bam hit Jofra Archer for back-to-back sixes to turn the match on its head.

With Nepal needing 10 runs off the last over from Curran, Bam needed to hit the last ball for a six but he managed only one as England heaved a huge sigh of relief.

Seifert powers NZ to their record T20 WC chase: Opener Tim Seifert struck a blistering 65 off 42 balls to lead New Zealand’s highest-ever run in a T20 World Cup as they beat Afghanistan by five wickets on Sunday.

After Afghanistan made 182-6, New Zealand were driven by Seifert’s 42-ball knock and 42 by Glenn Phillips to achieve their target with 13 balls to spare in Chennai.

New Zealand’s previous best chase in the T20 World Cup was their 167 against England in the 2021 semi-final.

Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman had New Zealand in early trouble when he struck on successive balls in the second over of the chase to dismiss Finn Allen, for one, and Rachin Ravindra, for a duck.

The hat-trick was avoided by Phillips, who then got going with wicketkeeper Seifert in a partnership of 74 for the third wicket to thwart Afghanistan’s spin-heavy attack.

Captain Rashid Khan let out a roar as he broke through to dismiss Phillips, who inside edged onto his stumps.

Leg-spinner Rashid dropped Seifert on 48 off his own bowling and the batsman reached his fifty with a six off veteran spinner Mohammad Nabi.

Seifert hit Nabi for another six and a four on successive balls before the bowler had his revenge on the next when he top-edged to be caught in the deep.

Mark Chapman fell after a 17-ball 28 but Daryl Mitchell, on 25, and skipper Mitchell Santner, on 17, saw New Zealand to 183-5 and a comfortable victory.

Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat and Gulbadin Naib, coming in at number three, struck 63 off 35 balls as after they had slipped to 44-2.

Matt Henry nearly had Rahmanullah Gurbaz caught after he skied a top edge behind the stumps, but keeper Seifert and Allen collided as they both ran back and the chance went begging.

Pace bowler Lockie Ferguson struck twice in his opening over to send back Ibrahim Zadran, for 10, and then Gurbaz, bowled for 27 off an inside edge.

Naib and left-hander Sediqullah Atal, who made 29, got together to rebuild the innings with a 79-run stand for the third wicket.

Naib reached his fourth T20 fifty off 29 balls before he departed attempting a slog off left-arm spinner Ravindra.

Kamindu fireworks rescue SL: A late blitz from Kamindu Mendis saw Sri Lanka recover from early jitters to claw their way to 163-6 after being sent in to bat by Ireland in their World Cup opener in Colombo on Sunday.

With the innings threatening to be derailed, Kamindu smashed 44 off just 19 balls to wrest the initiative back from Ireland’s spinners, who had tied down the hosts.

The Sri Lankans were 86-4 in the 14th over when Kamindu strode out and ended a boundary drought that had stretched to 57 deliveries.

He broke the shackles with a cheeky reverse sweep and went on the charge in a 17th over that cost Ireland 21 runs.

Agencies