Munsey, Leask lead Scotland to big win over Italy

Italy suffered a crushing 73-run loss to Scotland in their first ever T20 World Cup game. More worryingly, they were without skipper Wayne Madsen who left the field after dislocating his left shoulder. The incident occurred in the fourth over when Madsen fell awkwardly while attempting a diving stop. Italy will eagerly await news on Madsen's availability for the remainder of the tournament.

Asked to bat first, George Munsey dominated the PowerPlay. While Munsey struck eight fours inside the PowerPlay, his partner Michael Jones was happy to play second fiddle. Italy's woes compounded when they lost Madsen and when Anthony Mosca dropped Munsey off the last delivery of the PowerPlay.

Munsey continued his assault, bringing up fifty off just 30 balls with a six in the eighth over. The 126-run opening stand finally ended in the 14th over when Munsey was caught at long-on for 84. Jones, who was just beginning to kick on, departed in the following over.

The wickets did little to slow Scotland, as Brandon McMullen began by smacking two sixes. Despite a tight 19th over from Hasan Ali, Scotland finished strongly on 207/4 after the final over went for 22 runs.

Italy's chase began poorly after Justin Mosca was caught off the very first delivery. JJ Smuts provided impetus in the third over by smacking Brad Wheal for three sixes and a four but fell in the very next over. Anthony Mosca's dismissal in the fifth over left Italy three-down early.

A 73-run partnership between the Manenti brothers helped Italy consolidate through the middle overs, with Ben pushing on to reach a 29-ball fifty in the 14th over. They struck six fours and four sixes between them to keep Azzurri in the contest but the innings unravelled quickly when they fell in successive overs.

Michael Leask added two further scalps in the 15th over to register figures of 4/17, sending Italy spiraling. With Madsen unavailable to bat, the game ended in the 18th over. All nine Italian batters were out caught with Munsey taking four of them.

Brief Scores: Scotland 207/4 in 20 overs (George Munsey 84, Brandon McMullen 41; Ali Hasan 4-21) beat Italy 134 all-out in 16.4 overs (Ben Manenti 52, Harry Manenti 37; Michael Leask 4-17) by 73 runs