Tournament debutants Italy claimed their first-ever World Cup victory with a shock upset against Nepal in Mumbai.
Published On 12 Feb 2026
Italy earned a momentous maiden cricket win at the T20 World Cup when it stunned Nepal by 10 wickets on Thursday in Mumbai, India.
Brothers Anthony and Justin Mosca sealed the victory with an unbeaten stand for 124-0 after Nepal was bowled out for 123 at iconic Wankhede Stadium.
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Italy’s first win in only its second match at a global cricket tournament was also only the eighth 10-wicket victory in men’s T20 World Cup history.
Italy joined the Netherlands as the only two non-British European teams to win a game in the T20 World Cup.
Nepal, at its third T20 World Cup, was riding high after giving England a mighty scare at the same venue on Sunday.
But Sri Lanka-born wrist spinner Crishan Kalugamage picked 3-18, including captain Rohit Paudel, to help shoot out Nepal with three balls to spare.
The Sydney-raised Mosca brothers hit nine sixes and eight boundaries – Anthony was 62 not out off 32 balls, and Justin 60 not out off 44 – to dismantle the Nepal attack in just 12.4 overs.
Sri Lanka dominate Oman
Earlier, captain Dasun Shanaka broke his own record for the fastest T20 half-century for Sri Lanka as they crushed Oman by 105 runs in Pallekele.
Later, co-host and defending champion India took on Namibia in New Delhi.
Shanaka’s 19-ball 50 along with Kusal Mendis’s 61 and Pavan Rathnayake’s 60 against a weak bowling attack propelled Sri Lanka to a tournament-best 225-5.
Oman laboured to 120-9 in reply, the wickets shared by five bowlers. Off-spinner Maheesh Theekshana led with 2-11 off four overs.
Sri Lanka has two wins from two games, but has yet to meet Group B rivals Australia and Zimbabwe.
Oman’s 43-year-old Mohammad Nadeem became the oldest man to score a half-century in the history of the T20 World Cup with an unbeaten 53 from 56 balls. Nadeem was one of the only two Oman batters to reach double figures, with Wasim Ali scoring 27.
Sri Lanka lost Pathum Nissanka and Kamil Mishra inside the power play, but Rathnayake and Mendis featured in a brisk 94-run third-wicket stand off 52 balls.
Shanaka smacked five sixes to surpass his previous Sri Lanka record of a 20-ball half-century against India in 2023 before he holed out at long-off on the very next ball.
https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/AFP__20260212__978B26Q__v1__HighRes__CricketIccMensT20Wc2026NepIta-1770903628_b26193-1770904150.jpg?resize=1200%2C630&quality=80
2026-02-12 08:13:49
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