NEW DELHI: Italy hammered Nepal by 10 wickets to register their first-ever win in the men’s T20 World Cup, delivering a ruthless all-round display in just the second match of their maiden appearance at the tournament on Thursday.
After their spinners ran through Nepal for a modest 123, brothers Anthony Mosca (62 not out) and Justin Mosca (60 not out) stitched together a brutal unbeaten opening stand to flatten the Rhinos, who failed to live up to pre-match expectations.
Chasing 124, Italy raced home with 7.2 overs to spare.
THE HISTORICAL MOMENT FORItaly. 🇮🇹pic.twitter.com/Fosa3yNiGM
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) February 12, 2026
Mosca brothers run riot
The younger of the two, Justin, smashed three sixes and five fours in his unbeaten 60 off 44 balls, while Anthony made full use of a deflated Nepal bowling attack, clobbering six sixes and three fours in a 32-ball 62 not out.
It was only Italy’s second match in T20 World Cup history, coming after a crushing 73-run loss to Scotland in their tournament opener in Kolkata.
Nepal, touted as favorites following their spirited showing against England at the same venue, cut a disappointing figure.
None of their batters found answers to Italy’s disciplined spin bowling and sharp fielding, while the decision to hold back ace spinner Sandeep Lamichhane for most of the powerplay proved costly.
By the time Lamichhane was introduced, the Italian openers had already piled on 58 runs from the chase.
Anthony launched one over long-on in the very first over to set the tone, while Justin took apart Karan KC in the third, cracking two fours and a six as Italy surged ahead.
The Mosca brothers added a six each off Lalit Rajbanshi in the fourth over, bringing up Italy’s half-century in quick time.
Italy cruised along at nearly 10 runs an over, with Nepal unable to create even a half-chance, silencing a Wankhede Stadium crowd that had once again turned up in large numbers.
Spin chokehold breaks Nepal
Earlier, Ben Manenti (2/9) and Crishan Kalugamage (3/18) strangled the Nepal batting line-up in a superb display of spin bowling as Italy bundled out their opponents for a low total.
Spin dominated proceedings throughout as Italy bowled with admirable control, backed by outstanding fielding that kept Nepal under constant pressure.
Manenti was miserly from one end, finishing with figures of 4-0-9-2, while Kalugamage picked up three key wickets.
Former South Africa batsman JJ Smuts chipped in with 1/22 from his four overs as Nepal collapsed under sustained pressure.
Manenti’s control also eased the workload for his younger brother Harry, who stepped in as stand-in skipper after Italy lost regular captain Wayne Madsen to a dislocated shoulder.
Madsen’s absence, however, was barely felt as Italy functioned like a well-oiled unit, with fielders converting every chance that came their way.
Kalugamage deceived Dipendra Singh Airee (17) with a wrong’un that rattled the off stump, while opener Aasif Sheikh was brilliantly stumped by Gian-Piero Meade off Manenti in the eighth over.
It was a near-perfect bowling performance, with Italy offering no freebies and holding on to every catch, keeping the partisan crowd largely subdued.
Nepal’s innings ended with a run-out following a sharp direct hit from stand-in skipper Harry.
Nepal batters left clueless
None of Nepal’s specialist batters managed to counter Italy’s charge on what was otherwise a true batting surface.
Nepal, who had come agonizingly close to upsetting England in their previous outing here, slipped into trouble early with the dismissal of Kushal Bhurtel and never truly recovered.
Skipper Rohit Paudel showed brief resistance with two sixes but was caught on the ropes after picking Kalugamage’s googly.
Aarif Sheikh (27), with three boundaries, top-scored for Nepal, while Karan KC remained unbeaten on 18 off 11 balls, including a six and a four, when the final wicket fell.
(With PTI Inputs)
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