Day two of the T20 World Cup 2026 saw England, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand all secure victories in contrasting fashion. England survived a major scare at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, holding off Nepal by just four runs in a last-ball thriller after posting 184 for seven. Sri Lanka cruised to a 20-run win over Ireland in Colombo, with Kamindu Mendis’s blistering 44 off 19 balls setting up their total of 163.
New Zealand comfortably chased down Afghanistan’s 182 in Chennai, winning by five wickets with 13 balls remaining, thanks to Tim Seifert’s 65 off 42. While the favorites all advanced, the day belonged to Nepal, which pushed one of cricket’s powerhouses to the absolute limit.
England Survive Nepal Scare at Wankhede
England won the toss and batted on a good pitch at Wankhede Stadium. Jacob Bethell scored 55 runs off 35 balls. Harry Brook made 53 off 32. The pair put England in a strong position during the middle overs. Will Jacks came in late and smashed 39 runs off just 18 balls without getting out. He also took one wicket bowling and was named the player of the match.
Nepal got off to a bad start, losing Phil Salt to the first ball of the innings. Sher Malla bowled that delivery on his T20 World Cup debut. Getting a wicket with your first ball in a World Cup is special. Nepal fans filled nearly half of Wankhede. Around 17,000 people wore Nepal colors and made noise throughout the chase.
Kushal Bhurtel scored 29 off 17 balls at the top. Then Dipendra Singh Airee and captain Rohit Paudel built an 82-run partnership for the third wicket. That stand brought Nepal right back into the match. Airee made 44 off 29 balls. Paudel scored 39 runs before getting out. The Nepal squad fought hard but fell just short, showing the form they carried from their warm-up win against Canada earlier.
Lokesh Bam played the innings of his life. He hit three massive sixes off Archer in the 18th over. That over went for 21 runs. Nepal needed 24 runs off the last 12 balls at that point. Luke Wood bowled the 19th over and conceded 14 runs. Suddenly, Nepal needed just 10 off the final over.
Sam Curran held his nerve. He bowled yorkers and slower balls. Curran said after the match he backed himself to bowl six yorkers and take the result either way. Nepal managed only five runs off that over. The last ball needed to go for six. Bam swung hard but could not connect properly. England won by four runs.
This was the second time Nepal lost a World Cup match by a tiny margin. They lost to South Africa by one run at the 2024 T20 World Cup. Getting so close again must hurt. England have now won 11 of their last 12 completed T20 internationals. They survived a massive scare in their tournament opener.
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Sri Lanka Cruise Past Ireland in Colombo
Sri Lanka posted 163 runs batting first against Ireland in Colombo. Kamindu Mendis played the best innings of the day. He scored 44 runs off just 19 balls. Kusal Mendis partnered with him for a 67-run stand. That partnership set up the total.
Ireland never got close to chasing 164. Harry Tector made 40 runs. Lorcan Tucker scored 21. They put on 49 runs for the third wicket, but nobody else contributed much. Wanindu Hasaranga took three wickets for 25 runs. Maheesh Theekshana and Dunith Wellalage picked up two wickets each. Sri Lanka won by 20 runs without too much trouble.
New Zealand Chase Down Afghanistan Total
Afghanistan batted first in Chennai and made 182 for six wickets. Gulbadin Naib smashed 63 runs off 35 balls. He added 79 runs with Sediqullah Atal at the top of the order. Mohammad Nabi and Azmatullah Omarzai chipped in with useful runs at the end.
New Zealand chased the target down with 13 balls to spare. Lockie Ferguson dismissed both Afghanistan openers in the first over of the innings. That set the tone. Tim Seifert scored 65 off 42 balls and won the player of the match. Glenn Phillips made 42 off 25. Daryl Mitchell was not out on 25 off 13 balls to finish the chase. New Zealand won by five wickets.
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