T20 World Cup: England beat Nepal in thriller as Sam Curran holds nerve in final over and Harry Brook's side avoid shock

Two-time champions England dodged a huge shock at the T20 World Cup as they got their campaign under way with a nerve-jangling, four-run victory over a fearless Nepal in Mumbai.

Nepal required 10 runs from the final over to pull off an upset but were only able to score five off Sam Curran as they ended on 180-6 chasing 185 in the Group C encounter at Wankhede Stadium.

Earlier, Harry Brook (53 off 32 balls) and Jacob Bethell (55 off 35) sealed half-centuries with sixes, while Will Jacks (39no off 18) slammed three maximums in a 21-run final over as England posted 184-7 against the Associate nation in the teams' first-ever meeting.

Nepal raced to 31-0 in three overs and then went again after a couple of wickets had checked their progress, cantering to 123-2 after 14 overs as Rohit Paudel (39 off 34) and Dipendra Singh Airee (44 off 29), who combined for 82 off 54 deliveries, tucked into the leg-spin of Adil Rashid (0-42), including flogging his third over for 19.

The ask was cut to a manageable 62 runs from the final 36 balls as England got edgy, before Airee and Paudel were then caught slogging Liam Dawson (2-21) and Curran (1-27) in successive overs and the game switched back towards the favourites.

However, a 22-run Jofra Archer over, in which Lokesh Bam (39no off 20) creamed back-to-back sixes, and then a 14-run Luke Wood set made for a thrilling finale - one Curran ensured went England's way.

As England celebrated and Nepal considered what might have been, it became clear just how vital Jacks' late show with the bat had been.