KATHMANDU: The first match of the highly anticipated T20 World Cup between Nepal and England is taking place on Sunday at 3:15 PM Nepali time at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India. Wankhede is the same stadium where the great Indian cricket batter Sunil Gavaskar made his first double century.

This stadium is also the home ground of Mumbai. However, when the first match of Group C between Nepal and the English team happens on Sunday, Wankhede Stadium will be like a home ground for Nepali players. This is because all the tickets for the match have been sold out, and the majority of the spectators appear to be Nepalis. Master Thapa, president of the Nepal-India Workers’ Association, states that about 1.5 million Nepalis are living in Mumbai alone for employment and various works. He says it is a matter of pride for them to watch the Nepali team play against England, which has won the T20 World Cup twice.

Thapa says, “It is a matter of joy to see our brothers play against the mother of cricket, England, in Mumbai, which is considered the home of cricket in India. All the Nepalis here are excited.”

Nepal (NP) is playing all its group stage matches of this World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium. Built in 1974, this stadium is fundamentally considered favorable for batters. The West Indies and India inaugurated the stadium by playing a Test match here, in which India was defeated by 201 runs. In that Test, West Indies Captain Clive Lloyd made an unbeaten 242 runs. In 1978, Gavaskar made a double century of 205 runs against the West Indies on this very ground.

Famous English all-rounder Ian Botham also scored a century and took more than 10 wickets in a single Test on this ground. On the occasion of the completion of 50 years of the establishment of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), in the ‘Golden Jubilee’ cricket tournament organized in 1980, Botham created history at Wankhede by scoring 114 runs and taking 13 wickets.

Another renowned Indian batter, Virat Kohli, also played an impressive innings of 235 runs against England in the fourth Test of 2016 on this ground. A record is also safe in the name of former Indian (IN) batter and currently famous commentator Ravi Shastri on this ground. He hit 6 sixes in a single over of Baroda’s Tilak Raj in the 1985 Ranji Trophy.

Analysts say that because Wankhede Stadium is built by the seaside, it benefits not only the batters but also the seam bowlers in night matches. The pitch is also considered useful for spinners, as the ball takes a good ‘turn’ in the second innings.

Wankhede is fundamentally a ground made of the red soil of Mumbai. England has played four T20 International matches here, in which it has had two wins and two defeats. Its latest defeat was in a match against India last year. In the match where India scored 247 runs, England was limited to 97 runs.

In the upcoming 2026 season of India’s famous Indian Premier League (IPL), 13 English players are associated. This shows the dominance of English players on Indian grounds. In such a situation, for Nepal to defeat the world champion team of 2010 and 2022 is like ‘chewing iron chickpeas’. Previously, the English team’s performance was also good in the T20 World Cup held in India. In 2016, England missed winning the title after reaching the final.

If the results of the matches held at Wankhede Ground so far are analyzed, the largest score made here is 247, which was made by India against England. The average score of Wankhede ground is considered 134. Nepal has not been able to touch the average score of 134 runs against any Test nation in any match of the two World Cups it played previously. The 126 runs made against Bangladesh in 2014 is the highest total made by Nepal against a Test-playing nation in the World Cup.

At Wankhede, only 20 percent of the teams winning the toss and batting first have won the match so far. 80 percent of the matches have gone to the hands of those who won the toss and fielded. Therefore, whichever team wins the toss on Sunday, their choice will be fielding.

When Wankhede Stadium was built 50 years ago, its seating capacity was about 39,000. However, when it was reconstructed for the 2011 World Cup, the seating capacity decreased to 33,000. In this, it is certain that more than 80 percent of the spectators will be Nepali when the Nepali team enters the field against England today.

Wankhede is a ground full of histories upon histories. If Nepal defeats England on Sunday, another history will be written on this ground.