Brothers Justin and Anthony Mosca guided T20 World Cup debutants Italy to their first win in the tournament, as their unbeaten half-centuries secured a dominant 10-wicket victory over Nepal.
Justin (60) and Anthony (62) became the first brothers to score half-centuries in the same T20 World Cup match, as Italy, a country without a single natural cricket pitch, chased down a target of 124 with 44 balls to spare
Italy’s decision to bowl first in Mumbai paid off when their spinners shut down Nepal’s attempts to get a partnership going, with Crishan Kalugamage (3-18) and Benjamin Manenti (2-9) getting wickets at regular intervals.
Player of the match Kalugamage dismissed Nepal captain Rohit Paudel (23) and helped restrict Nepal to a meagre total of 123.
TheItalian openers, undeterred by the absence of their captain Wayne Madsen who dislocated his shoulder during Monday’s loss to Scotland, started aggressively with Justin Mosca hitting three sixes and three boundaries to help his team reach 50-0 in four overs.
He reached 50 off 37 balls in the 11th over, and Anthony hit a six in the next delivery to reach his own half-century.
Anthony scored the winning run with a shot towards cover, getting Italy to 124-0 in 12.4 overs, as his teammates rushed onto the field to celebrate their milestone victory.
“I always wanted to help the team win and do my best for my nation Italy… it’s a massive moment for me after a lot of sacrifices,” said Kalugamage, a Sri Lankan-born pizza baker, as his voice shook during the post-match presentation.
Italy next face former champions England in Kolkata on Monday.
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T20 World Cup favourites India brushed aside Namibia in Delhi, chalking up a regulation 93-run win.
The co-hosts bowled the Africans out for 116 inside 19 overs, having earlier piled on 209 for nine.
Opener Ishan Kishan set the tone as he blazed 61 in just 24 deliveries, including five sixes and six fours, with Hardik Pandya picking up the baton in the middle order with 52 from 28 balls.
In all, India cleared the ropes 14 times but Gerhard Erasmus stood out from the pack, picking up four for 20 with his canny off-breaks.
India’s bowlers had more than enough to work with, taking all 10 wickets with the unpredictable leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy tying the batters in knots as he took three for seven.
India sit top of Group A with two wins and a generous net run-rate of 3.05 ahead of their much-debated clash against rivals Pakistan on Sunday.
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Sri Lanka made it two wins from two at the T20 World Cup as they eased past Oman by 105 runs in Pallekelle.
After besting Ireland in their opener, the co-hosts made light work of their associate opponents as they racked up a tournament high 225 for five.
Pavan Rathnayake crashed 60 off 28 balls and skipper Dasun Shanaka clubbed five sixes in his 20-ball 50 as the run-rate soared to 11.25 an over. Sufyan Mehmood suffered worst, shelling 60 in a torrid spell.
The chase never really got started, ending at 120 for nine with Mohammad Nadeem (53no) one of just two batters reaching double figures.
Reuters
