Historic cricket win for Italy at T20 World Cup - India, Sri Lanka stay perfect

February 13, 2026

Photo

Italy’s Anthony Mosca (left) and Justin Mosca (right) run between the wickets as they bat during the T20 World Cup cricket match against Nepal in Mumbai, India, on Thursday.

MUMBAI, India:

Italy earned a momentous maiden cricket win at the T20 World Cup when they stunned Nepal by 10 wickets on Thursday.

Brothers Anthony and Justin Mosca sealed the victory with an unbeaten stand for 124-0 after Nepal were bowled out for 123 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium.

Italy's first win at a global cricket tournament came in their second outing, and the Azzurri joined the Netherlands as the only two non-British European teams to win a game in the T20 World Cup.

In the evening game, tournament co-host and defending champions India eased past Namibia by 93 runs in New Delhi. Hardik Pandya put in an all-round performance, hitting 52 off 28 balls and taking 2-21 in four overs.

Captain Dasun Shanaka broke his own record for the fastest Twenty20 half-century for Sri Lanka as they crushed Oman by 105 runs in Pallekele.

ASSOCIATE STATUS

Italy gained Associate member status in 1995 and played their first T20 international in 2019 against Germany. The team is mainly comprised of immigrant cricketers.

Nepal, at their third T20 World Cup, were riding high after giving England a mighty scare at the same venue on Sunday.

But Crishan Kalugamage picked up 3-18, including Nepal captain Rohit Paudel. Ben Manenti (2-9) dismissed Lokesh Bam -- hero of the England game -- for three and Nepal couldn't recover. The last seven wickets fell for 30 runs and Nepal were shot out with three balls to spare.

The Sydney-based 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.

Their unbeaten 124 runs was the highest partnership between siblings in men's T20 World Cups, surpassing the 96 by Pakistan's Kamran and Umar Akmal against Australia in 2014.

The first ever 10-wicket win for Italy was only the second ever by an Associate nation in tournament history.

"It is pretty extraordinary," stand-in Harry Manenti said. "It is something that a lot of people in Italy, and a lot of people in this team dreamt for a long time. When we qualified (for this World Cup) it was a special moment. But our goal was always to compete in this competition and compete at this level, and we showed that today."