Italy thrash Nepal for historic first T20 World Cup win at the Wankhede Stadium

Italy’s Justin Mosca (left) and Anthony Mosca at Wankhede on Thursday. Pics/Satej Shinde

Italy batted, bowled and fielded brilliantly, outclassing Nepal in every department, to register their first-ever T20 World Cup win, a 10-wicket victory with 44 balls to spare at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.

They first put Nepal in and dismissed them for just 123 in 19.3 overs, thanks mainly to leg-spinner Crishan Kalugamage (3-18) and off-spinner Ben Manenti (2-9). A couple of sharp throws from the Italians also resulted in two run outs.

Harry Manenti

Then, Italy's opening pair, the Mosca brothers - Justin, 31, and Anthony, 34, - played vital roles in the chase, which was achieved with 44 balls to spare. Left-hander Justin (44-ball 60 not out) and right-hander Anthony (32-ball 62 not out) never looked in trouble as they rotated the strike well and also went for the big hits.

Italy's stand-in skipper Harry Manenti revealed that his team was always confident of doing well. "When we qualified, that was obviously a special moment, but our goal was always to compete at this level and compete in this top competition, and we showed that today. We showed the world what we've got," said Manenti.

Italy head coach John Davison, who represented Canada in 32 ODIs and five T20Is, said: "This will be front-page news in a lot of countries and a lot of publications in Italy. We'll probably knock the Winter Olympics [currently on in Milano-Cortina, Italy] coverage to the back pages."

124
No. of runs put on by Justin Mosca and Anthony Mosca - the highest partnership for any wicket by a pair of brothers in a T20 World Cup

Brief scores
Nepal 123 all out in 19.3 overs (A Sheikh 27; C Kalugamage 3-18, B Manenti 2-9) lost to Italy 124-0 in 12.4 overs (A Mosca 62', J Mosca 60') by 10 wickets