ITA vs NEP, T20 World Cup 2026: Nepal faces Italy, looks to bounce back after heartbreaking loss to England
Nepal won hearts but fell agonisingly short of stunning England in its opening fixture of the ongoing T20 World Cup. With thousands of Nepali fans thronging the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday evening, there was no dearth of support for the Rohit Paudel-led team.
When it takes on Italy at the same venue on Thursday, Nepal will be hoping to get its campaign back on track against a team which is also coming off a defeat against Scotland.
While Nepal captain Paudel believes that the game against England has given his team a lot of confidence, Italy will be without its skipper, Wayne Madsen, who is recovering after dislocating his shoulder in its tournament opener. In his absence, Harry Manenti will lead the Italian side, which hopes to bounce back and prove its mettle.
Even though it went down to England, Nepal showed glimpses of its brilliance. In a must-win fixture, the focus will be on the team’s batting mainstay Dipendra Singh Airee, who scored 44 off 29 and picked up two wickets in the last outing. Apart from the seasoned all-rounder Airee, who has scored 2000 runs and claimed 60 wickets in 91 T20Is, the team will once again turn to Sandeep Lamichhane for breakthroughs in the middle overs.
READ | South Africa wins beats Afghanistan in thrilling double Super Over game
Paudel believes that “handling pressure and executing the plan in crunch times will be the key going forward”, while Italy’s regular captain Madsen feels that “to win in front of 35,000 people would be pretty special” for his side, which had some bright moments against Scotland at Eden Gardens.
Despite being on the losing side, Benjamin Manenti stamped his class with a 31-ball 52 against Scotland, whereas JJ Smuts maintained a strike rate of 200-plus throughout his innings before a lower-order collapse let the Italians down.
As the competition intensifies, both teams have lots to play for.
Published on Feb 11, 2026
