T20 World Cup: Scotland beat debutants Italy to kick-start campaign
What's the story
Scotland comfortably went past Italy in their opening match of the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. They posted a massive 207/4 while batting against the tournament debutants, thanks to George Munsey's 84. Though Italy put up a decent fight in the run chase with Ben Manenti's fifty leading the chase, they (134/10) eventually fell short. Here are the key stats.
1st innings
Scotland posted a massive score
Scotland were put in to bat first, and they made the most of it with a 126-run opening partnership. Munsey was the aggressor in this stand as Michael Jones (37) played the supporting role. Brandon McMullen (41*) and Michael Leask (22*) also contributed valuable runs as Scotland became the first Associate nation to cross the 200-run mark in a T20 WC game (207/4).
Chase
Summary of the run chase
Italy were let down by their top-order batters as they were reduced to 40/3 at one stage. Ben Manenti then joined forces with Harry Manenti, and the two batters did the rescue work with a 73-run partnership. While the latter was dismissed for 37, Ben went on to play a 52-run knock. Michael Leask claimed a four-wicket haul as Italy were folded for 134.
Information
Injury to Wayne Madsen
Italy were a batter short in the run chase as their skipper Wayne Madsen suffered a shoulder dislocation while fielding. The unfortunate incident happened during the fourth over of Scotland's innings at Kolkata's Eden Gardens.
Munsey
Munsey goes past Berrington
Munsey ended up scoring 84 off just 54 balls with the help of 13 fours and two sixes. With this knock, Munsey has raced to 2,405 T20I runs at 31.64 (SR: 144.44). His tally of 16 50-plus T20I scores is the most for a Scottish batter (100s: 2). The batter surpassed his current skipper, Richie Berrington (2,392), to become Scotland's highest run-getter in T20Is.
Information
Third fifty in T20 WCs
Munsey also became the first Scotland batter to complete 500 runs in T20 World Cups. Across 20 games, he has raced to 568 runs at 31.55. His tally now includes three fifties and a strike rate of 126.50.
Scotland batters
Key numbers for McMullen and Jones
Jones played the second fiddle in the opening stand with Munsey. The former scored a 30-ball 37, hammering two sixes and a four. This knock took his T20I tally to 262 runs from 13 games at 21.83 (SR: 131.65). Meanwhile, McMullen's 18-ball 41* was laced with four sixes and no boundaries. He now owns 684 runs from 25 matches at 32.57 (SR: 148.37).
Leask
Four-fer for Leask
Leask starred with his all-round heroics. He slammed a five-ball 22* after coming to bat in the final over. With his off-spin, the veteran later claimed 4/17 from his four overs. This was his maiden T20I four-fer, which took his tally to 55 scalps from 76 games at 20.67. 14 of his wickets have come in T20 WCs at 23.14.
Information
Leask joins Josh Davey
Leask recorded the best figures by a Scottish bowler in a T20 WC game. The only other bowler from the country with a four-fer in the competition is pacer Josh Davey - 4/18 vs Papua New Guinea, 2021.
Ben
Ben scripts history for Italy
Ben Manenti has become the first Italy player to score a half-century in the T20 World Cup. He scored an impressive 52 runs off just 31 balls, including five fours and a six. This was Ben's maiden T20I fifty across nine games, which took his tally to 145 runs at an average of 18.12. His strike rate reads 127.19.