Italy created history on Thursday (February 12) by achieving its first win in the T20 World Cup. They achieved the historic feat with a stunning 10-wicket defeat of Nepal at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Nepal started the game as favorites thanks to their experience as well as their performance against England in their last match. However, Italy completely outclassed them to open their account in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
Also read: “Pizza > Momos”: Wasim Jaffer cashes in on Nepal after Italy pulls off T20 World Cup upset
Italy beats Nepal:
Batting first, Nepal was out for just 123 runs and none of its players could even reach the 30-run mark. Arif Shaikh scored the most runs for his team. For Italy, Chrishan Kalugamage impressed with the ball, taking 3 wickets for 18 runs in 4 overs, while Ben Manenti took 2 wickets for just 9 runs in 4 overs.
With the bat, the European team chased down the target with ease thanks to their openers. They crossed the finishing line without losing a single wicket. Justin Mosca and Anthony Mosca scored 60 and 62 runs respectively to lead their team to a spectacular victory. They made an unbeaten partnership of 124 runs in just 12.4 overs.
The Mosca brothers did it in style!
Italy registered their first ICC Men’s T20 World Cup win with an impressive 10-wicket win over Nepal.
Statement given. History was created.Next on ICC Men’s #T20WorldCup | #INDvNAM | LIVE NOW https://t.co/aLGrwgVX5o pic.twitter.com/lKwkG3OSxX
– Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) 12 February 2026
A memorable outing for the Mosca brothers:
This match was memorable not only for Italy but also for the Mosca brothers. The Italian stars now hold the record for the first century partnership between brothers in the T20 World Cup. Their partnership is only the third instance of an opening partnership of over 100 by an Associate team in the T20 World Cup.
The 124-run partnership is now also the highest partnership between siblings in the T20 World Cup. The previous record was held by Pakistan’s Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal, who made a 96-run partnership against Australia in the 2014 edition.
Opening stand of over 100 by an Associate team in T20 World Cup:
- 131* – Aaqib Ilyas & Jatinder Singh (OMA) vs PNG, 2021
- 126 – Michael Jones and George Munsey (SCO) vs ITA, 2026
- 124* – Justin Mosca & Anthony Mosca (ITA) vs NEP, 2026*
Mosca Brothers
Anthony Mosca – 62*(32)
Justin Mosca – 60*(44)First century partnership by brothers in T20 World Cup history, this is Italy, this is Moscow Brothers. pic.twitter.com/2KF4dF3kwo
– Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) 12 February 2026
Italy’s stand-in captain was happy with the win over Nepal and described it as extraordinary. He said that Italy’s players and fans had been dreaming of this historic victory for a long time.
“Yes, it’s really extraordinary. It’s something that a lot of people in Italy, a lot of people in this group, have dreamed of for a long time. When we qualified, that was obviously a special moment, but our goal was always to compete at this level and to compete in this top competition, and we showed that today. We couldn’t make it the other day, but we backed it up today and showed the world what we have.” Manenti said.
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