Spin it to win it – Italy beat Nepal in historic win

Anthony Mosca's celebrations at the end of the chase said it all. Italy created history by winning their first ever game at the T20 World Cup, overcoming Nepal by 10 wickets with 7.2 overs to spare. The Mosca brothers – Anthony and Justin – registered an undefeated 124-run opening stand. The Italian spinners, led by Crishan Kalugamage (3 for 18) and Ben Manenti (2 for 9), restricted Nepal to 123, setting the base for an easy win.

Bowling first, Italy began with the offspin of Manenti. Kushal Bhurtel hit the first boundary but fell next ball. Rohit Paudel hit two sixes towards the end of the PowerPlay.

Kalugamage, introduced in the seventh over, struck in his first over as Paudel holed out. Manenti had the other set batter, Aasif Sheikh, stumped. Only 21 runs came from the 7th to the 10th over before Aarif Sheikh hit back-to-back boundaries. The Italian spinners continued to trouble Nepal. Wickets fell in a cluster as Kalugamage and Manenti removed Dipendra Singh Airee and Lokesh Bam. Smuts dismissed the set batter Aarif for 27. Kalugamage picked up two in his final over as Nepal were 102 for 8.

Karan KC threatened briefly, taking 14 runs in the 18th over, before Nepal lost their final two wickets with three balls left. Italy bowled 12 overs of spin in the first innings.

In the chase, Italy signaled their intent early as Anthony clubbed a six in the first over. Spin was introduced in the second over but the Mosca brothers remained unfazed, finding boundaries regularly. Justin aced the slog-sweeps and swivel pulls, scoring three sixes and three boundaries in the third and fourth overs as Italy reached 50.

Nepal couldn't stop the flow of boundaries, and even their ace legspinner had no answers. Italy raced to 68/0 in the PowerPlay, the third-highest score by an Associate side in T20 World Cup PowerPlays. The brothers brought up their fifties off back-to-back deliveries before Anthony sealed the chase with a single.

Brief Scores: Nepal 123 in 19.3 overs (Aarif Sheikh 27, Rohit Paudel 23; Crishan Kalugamage 3-18, Ben Manenti 2-9) lost to Italy 124/0 in 12.4 overs (Anthony Mosca 62*, Justin Mosca 60*) by 10 wickets.