ENGLAND were given a major scare at the beginning of their T20 World Cup campaign but Sam Curran held his nerve to deliver a four-run win over minnows Nepal at a raucous Wankhede Stadium today.

With Nepal needing 10 from the final over to secure a famous victory in the first ever meeting between the two sides, Curran nailed his lines and lengths to get England out of jail in a breathless contest.

It was England’s 11th win in 12 completed T20s, secured after recording the highest score of the tournament of 184 for seven, underpinned by Jacob Bethell’s 55 off 35 balls and Harry Brook’s 53 off 32 in an innings where they faced 14 overs of spin.

Will Jacks’s cameo 39 not out off 18 deliveries proved just as important, while Liam Dawson shone with the ball with two for 21 as England were pushed to the limit by their Associate opponents, whose every boundary was cheered to the hilt by thousands of Nepalese fans inside the Mumbai ground.

While Adil Rashid failed to take a wicket for the first time in 25 T20s and was expensive, England reduced Nepal to 146 for five, only for Lokesh Bam’s unbeaten 39 to turbocharge their innings.

However, he was unable to get Curran away at the death and this England side avoided following their 2009 iteration, who were stunned by the Netherlands in their curtain-raiser, in a shock defeat.