Nepal suffered a humiliating defeat against Italy in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on Thursday, losing the match by 10 wickets.
Chasing a modest target of 124 runs set by Nepal, Italy comfortably reached 124 without losing a wicket in just 11.4 overs.
Nepal looked helpless in both batting and bowling departments, as their bowlers failed to take a single wicket. Italy’s victory was powered by an outstanding opening partnership between the Mosca brothers.
Elder brother Anthony Mosca smashed 62 runs off 32 balls, hitting three fours and six sixes. His younger brother Justin Mosca scored 60 runs off 44 balls, including five fours and three sixes. The duo dominated the Nepali bowling attack from the start.
Nepal’s bowlers struggled throughout the innings. Lalit Rajbanshi conceded 19 runs in one over, while Nandan Yadav gave away 12 runs in his single over. Karan KC leaked 21 runs in two overs, and Sandeep Lamichhane conceded 31 runs in three overs.
Earlier, after losing the toss and being invited to bat first, Nepal were bowled out for 123 runs in 19.3 overs.
For Italy, Krishan Kalugamage took three wickets, while Ben Manenti claimed two. Ali Hasan and JJ Smuts picked up one wicket each.
Arif Sheikh was the top scorer for Nepal with 27 runs off 24 balls, including three fours. Opener Kushal Bhurtel struggled, scoring just 5 runs off 10 balls before being dismissed on the final delivery of the second over.
Captain Rohit Paudel was dismissed as the second wicket on the last ball of the sixth over after scoring 23 runs off 14 balls, including two sixes. Asif Sheikh departed in the seventh over with Nepal in a weak position at 49 runs; he managed 20 runs off 20 balls.
All-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee was dismissed in the 13th over when Nepal had reached 96 runs. After his departure, the responsibility fell on Lokesh Bam, Arif Sheikh, and Gulshan Jha. However, Lokesh and Gulshan were dismissed cheaply for 3 runs each.
Karan KC attempted to accelerate the innings, scoring 18 runs off 11 balls with one four and one six, but Nepal’s batting lineup failed to build partnerships.
Overall, Nepal’s top-order batsmen failed to settle at the crease, putting the team under pressure early on. After the 14th over, the batting unit was expected to stabilize and push the total higher, but continued wickets left Nepal struggling, ultimately resulting in a one-sided defeat.
