Lokesh Bam’s late heroics with the bat were not enough as Nepal were beaten by the two-time champions in the Group C match in Mumbai.

Nepal team is heartbroken as they almost suffer an upset in T20 World Cup against England But the two-time champions won their Group C match in Mumbai, trailing by four points.

Lokesh Bam’s heroics with the bat – 39 runs off 20 balls – were not enough to see Nepal cross the finish line at the Wankhede Stadium, which was packed with Nepali fans on Sunday.

Nepal posted 180-6 to hand England a nail-biting victory in the controversial cricket tournament.

England captain Harry Brooke (53) and teammate Jacob Besser (55) seemed to have done enough to deny Nepal the match when they scored 50s to help England reach 184-7.

But Rohit Paudel played his captaincy innings and along with star all-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee helped Nepal to a shock victory.

The departure of the two slowed Nepal’s progress, but Lokesh recovered to hit hard on some wayward bowling by England seamers.

With 10 runs needed in the final over, the Rhinos were unable to get Sam Curran’s accurate delivery over the boundary and could only muster six runs.

Rhinos fans, hundreds of whom traveled from across the border, were frustrated.

Earlier, England, who had chosen to bat at the Wankhede Stadium, were floundering at 57-3 in the seventh over.

Sher Mara scored the first goal on his World Cup debut, sending off Phil Salt as the pressure mounted on England after Jos Buttler and Tom Banton fell.

Bethel had no problem adapting to the nature of the track, while other batsmen found it difficult to bowl. He and Brooke combined for 71 runs in a 45-ball partnership to rebuild the innings.

Airee (44) and captain Paudel (39) helped Nepal stay in the title race with 82 runs off 54 balls.

Curran brought relief to the England camp by trapping Airee in the abyss, and Paudel left soon after.

Bam hit Jofra Archer for six consecutive runs to turn the tide of the game.

With Nepal needing 10 runs off the last ball of Kuran, Bam needed to hit the final ball for a six but he managed just one and England breathed a sigh of relief.