A day prior to his team facing Nepal, not many had given Italy any chance. There was a justifiable rationale behind the presumption. Nepal had nearly pulled off a miraculous victory against two-time champions England, whereas in striking contrast, Italy succumbed to a 73-run defeat against Scotland, in their respective opening matches of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.
Moreover, they were overwhelmingly outnumbered in terms of support. Around 30,000 supporters turned up at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, and it would have been akin to finding needle in a haystack to search for 30 Italian jerseys in the crowd. There was, in Mumbai, a sea of blue, but that of Nepal.
Yet, though the discourse having very little regard for his team, Italy’s head coach John Davison believed that his team can win, if only they are brave on the field. Brave, they were. Won, they did.
This Will Be Front Page News in a Lot of Countries: John Davison
On Thursday, 12 February, Italy secured a 10-wicket triumph over Nepal to announce their arrival in international cricket in style. Not only was it Italy’s first victory in this competition, but a victory that will establish the team’s footprint in international cricket.
Coach John Davison is well versed with the emotions encircling associate nations, having himself represented Canada internationally on 37 occasions. It is understandable that despite the significance of the occasion, he remained stoic in his demeanour and responses. Though, he admitted that a few tears had been shed in the dressing room.
Responding to a question from The Quint after the team, he said:
There was definitely a few tears in the guys eyes. This definitely meant a lot to a lot of guys out there, particularly the two Mosca boys. Obviously, being brothers and hitting a hundred, chasing none down, which was a phenomenal effort. It was a phenomenal effort in the field too. It was pretty interesting that in game one, nothing went our way, and then today, sort of everything went our way. But I think it was a reflection on how brave we were this game, as opposed to our first hit out in the World Cup, which was probably a little bit tentative.John Davison, responding to The Quint
Elaborating on what this victory would do for cricket in Italy, he added:
I think it just puts us on it. This will be front page news in a lot of countries and a lot of publications in Italy as well, I would imagine. I am hoping. And for us to get that sort of exposure and , maybe knock off the Winter Olympics off the back page of the sport would be unbelievable for cricket in the country and just bring some attention to us.John Davison, responding to The Quint
Very Emotional Win: Ben Manenti
Indeed, it has been confirmed by the three-strong travelling media contingent from Italy that the news of their nation winning their maiden T20 World Cup clash will be on the back pages of Italian dailies tomorrow. Though cricket has a mile and a half to travel before outweighing Winter Olympics report, this is a start. And a historic one, at that.
Ben Manenti, who was born and raised in Sydney, and is yet to learn Italian, was among the key architects of the victory, picking up 2 wickets and conceding only nine runs in his four overs.
Reflecting on the triumph, he told The Quint:
Very exciting, very emotional win. We put a lot of effort, a lot of time, a lot of hours into this. We didn't feel like we put our best performance in the other day against Scotland but we feel like we rectified it today.Ben Manenti, responding to The Quint
We Are a Federation Who Are Working Very Hard: Harry Manenti
His brother Harry Manenti, who was the stand-in skipper today in the absence of the injured Wayne Madsen, hopes that this victory will show Italians that the cricket team is focused on winning, and not on mere participation.
I'm hoping what we've managed to do, not just today but in the last few weeks, in the last few years, has built a reputation in Italy that we are a federation who are working hard. We've brought in some really high class coaching that was crucial to working with the players. We've had players all along, we've got a good group of local players in Italy who we've seen today. Crishan, who's lived in Italy for a long, long time, moved there when he was about 10. He's now on the world stage. Had he stayed in Sri Lanka, he probably wouldn't have gotten – one, the life experience he has in Italy and two, the opportunity to show his skills on the world stage.Harry Manenti
On being asked about how he will celebrate the win, Manenti was candid in his answer.
We are a very close-knit team. It'll probably start in the change rooms and on the bus ride home. Unfortunately, the bus is only a five-minute drive home. I remember when our first original qualifiers in Rome, we started and we finished the tournament at the top and we had a long drive home where we sat there and we drank Peronis and we had a good laugh and we sang some songs. That will probably stay the same. We might just be in the hotel tonight and spend some time with each other and really try and soak up what we just did because it can easily get past you and not realize quite what we've just done in the game.Harry Manenti