T20 World Cup: Mosca brothers star as Italy crush Nepal
What's the story
In a stunning and dominant display, Italy crushed Nepal by 10 wickets in their second match of the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. The Mosca brothers, Anthony and Justin, were the stars of the show as they chased down 124 in the 13th over. This victory marks Italy's first win in the tournament and comes after a heavy defeat against Scotland in their opening match.
Chase
Mosca brothers lead Italy to victory
Italy's chase was led by the Mosca brothers, who were aggressive from the start. Anthony Mosca hit a six in the first over itself, while Justin joined in soon after. The duo continued to attack, taking Italy 68/0 in six overs. This is the highest powerplay score by an Associate nation without losing a wicket in a T20 World Cup match.
Victory
The Azzurri make history
Both Anthony and Justin brought up their half-centuries on successive balls in the 11th over, bowled by Sandeep Lamichhane. In no time, the duo took the Azzurri to a famous 10-wicket victory. Justin Mosca hammered an unbeaten 60 off 44 balls (5 fours and 3 sixes), while his brother finished with a 32-ball 62* (3 fours and 6 sixes).
Numbers
Record partnership for the duo
Anthony and Justin stitched an unbeaten 124-run stand, the highest between siblings in T20 World Cups, according to Cricbuzz. They surpassed the 96-run partnership between Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal against Australia from 2014. This was also only the third 100-plus opening stand for an Associate team in T20 World Cup history.
Information
Four half-centuries each for the duo
According to ESPNcricinfo, Anthony became the first Italian player with 500 T20I runs. With his fourth half-century, he has raced to 554 runs at 42.61. Justin, who also recorded his fourth half-century, got to 441 T20I runs.