Sher Malla achieved a rare feat during the T20 World Cup 2026 match against England as he became only the second Nepal bowler to scalp a wicket on the very first delivery of his T20I debut. Paras Khadka was the first one to pick up a wicket off the first ball of his T20I career. Malla removed England’s Phil Salt.
England rode on fifties from Jacon Bethell and captain Harry Brook and a late surge from Will Jacks who chipped in with an unbeaten 39 off 18 to put 184/7 in 20 overs. Sher Malla returned with figures of 1/35 in three overs while Dipendra Singh Airee
scalped a couple for 23 runs in 3.
Sher Malla – 5️⃣3️⃣ #Rhino 🇳🇵#NepalCricket pic.twitter.com/rPJUXtnqmJ
— CAN (@CricketNep) February 8, 2026
Beautiful scenes at the Wankhede Stadium. All of Nepal in Mumbai is here. And Sher Malla has just lived the dream every cricketer craves for.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 8, 2026
FIRST BALL. FIRST WICKET. TOTAL DISBELIEF! 😱🇳🇵
Talk about making an entrance! Sher Malla just announced himself to the world by dismissing Phil Salt with his very first delivery in international cricket. From the NPL to the #T20WorldCup stage-the dream is officially real!
A… pic.twitter.com/NxRNkke8s9— Ananda Nepali (@anandanepali99) February 8, 2026
“I think it’s a good score. After 6-7 overs, was kind of thinking 180, if we went well ready to sneak it up to 200, but really happy with 185. We just got to go and defend it now. (which was hard to play, spin or seam?) I think it depends what kind of seam, the off-pace deliveries for everyone was pretty hard. So the tacky nature of the wicket, probably would look to use a bit more off-pace for our seamers. But yeah, the spinners is where it definitely was a bit tougher, especially it looked like in that kind of middle period when we were trying to get on with it, it looked hard to come in and start, so we’re trying to just take a few wickets in there. (advice to his bowlers?) The seamers definitely be, use your change of pace and then get the ball into the wicket, let the wicket do the work for you. And then the spinners would be, our spinners are quite experienced. So keep the stumps in play and let their skill and let the pitch do the work,” Jacob Bethell said after the innings.
Covering sports for fun. Cricket in whites remains the first love—the kind that teaches patience, rewards nuance, and tells stories over five days rather than five seconds.
