🏏ICC Men's T20 World Cup : M7: SCO vs ITA at Kolkata on 09/02/26🏏 - Page 2

Banana peel fixture

Scotland will know better than to take either Nepal or Italy lightly having lost two both last summer, but should Scotland stage an upset in either of their full-member fixtures one could easily imagine a rapid come-down to follow. Nepal especially, having the advantage of playing all their games at the same ground, are well-placed to lay an ambush for the Scots at Wankhede.

What a good World Cup looks like

While it's a success of sorts for Scotland to even be there, they've yet to hear confirmation that their elevation will even get them a bye to regional finals next cycle, so there's a potential long drop down to sub-regionals should they miss out on the Super-8s. That said anything but a winless run would be better than watching from home, and if it's a win over the Auld Enemy, well then so much the better.

The last minute reprieve catches Scotland in the midst of something of a rebuilding phase, having been blooding youngsters with mixed success in T20 in recent years, and under new direction too with head coach Owen Dawkins just a few weeks in the job. Yet the core of the side, under veteran skipper Richie Berrington, are no strangers to the big stage, with nine of the travelling party veterans of the 2021 run to the Super 12s. Scotland's unexpected inclusion for this edition has been described by some as a "free hit", but if so it's one the Scots will be dead set on sending over the rope.

Thanks for the tag Madhu.

May the best team win.

It is surprising, Australia, South Africa and some other nations haven't played a single game yet and Scotland is already playing their second game in 3 days.

Cheers..

Italy and Scotland's rivalry is not new. Just that this happening for the first time in a world tournament (cricket). Italy is the stronger team in football. However, they did manage to beat Scotland in the ICC T20 World Cup Europe region final last year.

Scotland were left shocked by the defeat but somehow have managed to find a way into the World Cup as well.

So, whoever thinks that this is going to be a drab contest, should rethink their position again.

04:30 GMT, 10:00 IST: Six matches, six competitive encounters, it's been an action-packed T20 World Cup. Let's hope that the trend continues. Hello everyone and a warm welcome to another triple-header. First up today, it's a fascinating clash - World Cup debutants taking on a side that was slotted into the tournament at the eleventh hour. It's the European Derby - Italy vs Scotland. The iconic Eden Gardens is the battleground.

Originally posted by: Savera84

Thanks for the tag Madhu.

May the best team win.

It is surprising, Australia, South Africa and some other nations haven't played a single game yet and Scotland is already playing their second game in 3 days.

Cheers..

Scotland made the two-time champions - West Indies - work hard for their victory. Bowling first, they conceded just 33 runs in the powerplay and kept things tight at the death as well. While Shimron Hetmyer played a blinder, Scotland did well to restrict a powerful batting line-up to 182. With the bat, they were very much in the contest, thanks to the Bruce–Berrington partnership. But once the Scottish captain perished, the innings unravelled in a hurry. Failing to seize the crunch moments has been the story for the inexperienced sides in this competition. This is Scotland’s second game here in Kolkata, and they should be well acclimatised to the conditions.

Italy have made a lot of history along the way to be at this T20 World Cup and today, they will be the 25th different nation to make their debut at this tournament.

The world's a stage, they say, and World Cups, in a majority of sports, are the most glamourous of them all. Teams around the world, whenever and wherever they get the chance, try to do everything just to be a part of it. But only a few every edition are able to step into promised land.

Italy are them. And no matter what happens today, the ninth of February, 2026, will forever be theirs. As the day they mixed it with the world order. As the day all those sacrifices yielded a spot on the big stage. And as the day they truly realised a dream. But now that they are here, can they do even better? Can they, and their fans might say this only in hushed tones, win at the first time of asking?

For Italy, it’s D-Day. They are the newest entrants to the World Cup and they arrive with momentum on their side. Exactly nine months ago, they beat today’s opponents in the T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier, sealing a historic 12-run victory. They notched up convincing warm-up wins over Canada and the UAE in Chennai. To know more about the Azzurri and their remarkable journey, read this piece (plugged above) by Bertus de Jong.