Debutants Italy has made history at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai with first-ever win in T20 World Cup history. Italy not only won today but won with a statement thrashing Nepal by 10 wickets. They climbed to 3rd in points table ahead of England. Italy decided to chase and then skittled out Nepal for 123 with Crishan Kalugamage leading the way with 3-wicket haul and Ben Manenti picking up a couple of wickets for 9 runs in 4 overs. Nepal had nowhere to go today and were outplayed in all departments.
In the chase, it was all about the Mosca brothers putting on a show as Justin and Anthony scored a couple of 60s to bludgeon Italy over the line by 10 wickets in 12.4 overs. It was all Italy as they dominated the powerplay and did not give Nepal an inch who have slipped to the bottom of the points table.
All-Round Bowling Display led by Crishan Kalugamage skittles Nepal out for 123 in 19.3 overs.Â
Put into bat first, Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh came out to bat for Nepal. Ben Manenti had ball in hand for Italy. Nepal got off to a shaky start as they lost Kushal Bhurtel for 5 off 10 balls with Ali Hasan picking him up. The score was 8 at this stage of the game. Rohit Paudel the Nepal captain came out to bat at 3. Aasif Sheikh and Rohit Paudel got together and tried to forge a partnership. The duo took the score for Nepal in powerplay to 46/1 and off to a steady start.
But things quickly unravelled after the powerplay. The duo put on 41 for the second wicket before the captain Rohit Paudel went for a quickfire 23 off 14 balls with 2 sixes to his name to Crishan Kalugamage . Dipendra Singh Airee came out to bat next. Aasif too fell soon at the same score as Ben Manenti picked him up for 20 off 20 balls with 2 fours to his name. Aarif Sheikh came out to bat next.
Aarif and Dipendra Singh Airee then tried to forge a partnership in the middle phase of the game. Nepal were in need of a partnership and they were getting it as Airee and Aarif who was slightly more aggressive out there. The duo put on 44 runs for the 4th wicket before Airee fell for 17 off 18 balls clean bowled by Kalugamage. Lokesh Bam came out to bat next at 93/4 and things were about to turn for the worse for Nepal now.
Just 3 runs were added to the tally before Lokesh fell for 3 off 5 balls to Ben Manenti. Gulshan Jha came out to bat next. Another one bit the dust as after 4 runs were added to the score before Aarif fell for 27 off 24 balls with 3 fours to his name. Karan KC came out to bat next. Another 2 runs later Gulshan Jha fell for 3 off 4 balls to Kalugamage. Nandan Yadav came out to bat next.
Nandan fell soon after at the same score as he fell for a silver duck thanks to a run out. Sandeep Lamichhane came out to bat next. Karan added some runs to add some respectability to the score. He hit a boundary and a maximum while Sandeep hung in there with him. The duo added 21 runs for the 9th wicket before Sandeep fell for 5 off 7 balls to Jaspreet Singh. Lalit Rajbanshi came out to bat next.
Rajbanshi fell for a silver duck as another run out happened to end the innings. Karan KC remained unbeaten on 18 off 11 balls with one four and one six to his name as Nepal were bowled out for 123 in 19.3 overs. 2 extras given by the fielding side.
Italy were fantastic with the ball. Crishan Kalugamage finished with 3/18 in 4 overs. Ben Manenti finished with 2/9 in 4 overs. JJ Smuts finished with 1/22 in 4 overs. Ali Hasan finished with 1/34 in 3 overs. Jaspreet Singh finished with 1/8 in 1.3 overs. Grant Stewart finished with 0/32 in 3 overs. Italy now needed a mere 124 runs to win off 20 overs for their debut win in World Cup history.
The Mosca Brothers power Italy past the finishing line in 12.4 overs.Â
Chasing 124 for a historic win, Justin Mosca and Anthony Mosca came out to bat for Italy while Karan KC started proceedings for Nepal. The duo started slowly in initial overs and then went big and took the attack to the opposition. Italy was like a rampaging river simply unstoppable. They did not give Nepal a chance in the game as sixes and fours flowed like a rampaging river. No bowler was spared as Anthony was the aggressor while Justin complimented him well.
The duo brought up the 50-run stand and team’s 50 in 4 overs. They were dominating Nepal from the get go. The powerplay score for Italy was 68/0 in 6 overs and this really sealed the deal for Italy and now the formalities remained to be completed. Both players went overdrive and slowed down a bit against Sandeep but could afford to since the required rate was not that high at all.
The duo went steadily and took the score to 97/0 in 10 overs. The game was a mere formality as the 100-run stand was up between the two and both reached their respective fifties. No bowler was spared as Nepal failed to make early inroads. The chase was eventually completed in 12.4 overs with Justin remaining unbeaten on 60 off 44 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes to his name while Anthony was unbeaten on 62 off 32 balls with 3 fours and 6 sixes to his name. 2 extras given by the fielding side.
Nepal failed to get a wicket at all. Dipendra Singh Airee bowled decently with figures of 0/24 in 3.4 overs. Karan KC gave away 21 runs in 2 overs. Lalit Rajbanshi went for 19 in his only over. Sandeep Lamichhane went for 31 runs in 3 overs. Nandan Yadav bowled an over for 12 runs. Kushal Bhurtel bowled 2 overs for 15 runs. So, Italy win by 10 wickets with 7.2 overs to spare. Crishan Kalugamage was awarded the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead.Â
So, Italy makes history with a thrashing of Nepal by 10 wickets and they have climbed to 3rd in the points table. England have slipped to 4th place. Italy next goes to Kolkata where they will face England next while Nepal will face West Indies next in Group C clash. More action to come on Thursday as co-hosts and defending champions India will take on Namibia in Group A clash in New Delhi.
Let’s see how that fixture shapes up for all of us.
Also Read: ICC T20 WC 2026: Crishan Kalugamage’s 3-Wicket Haul Helps Italy Skittle Out Nepal For 123.