New Delhi: Italy created history at the ICC T20 World Cup as brothers Justin Mosca and Anthony Mosca led the team to its maiden World Cup title while also creating a unique record of the highest partnership between a brother and a sister in the history of the T20 World Cup.Italy, participating in the World Cup for the first time in any format, defeated Nepal by 10 wickets at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. After winning the toss, Italy opted to bowl and quickly put pressure on the Nepali batsmen. Nepal struggled to build momentum and were eliminated with just 123 points in 19.3 overs. Aarif Sheikh, Rohit Paudel and Aasif Sheikh were the key contributors but Italy’s bowlers kept their nerve throughout.Spinners Crishan Kalugamage and Ben Manenti led the bowling attack, taking key wickets and controlling the scoring. Their efforts ensured that Italy had an achievable goal.In response, the Mosca brothers took complete control of the game. Justin Mosca scored an unbeaten 60 off 44 balls while Anthony Mosca scored an unbeaten 62 off 32 balls. Together they put on an opening partnership of 124 runs and chased down the target in just 12.4 overs without losing a wicket.Their partnership broke a long-standing record, surpassing the best record set by brothers Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal for Pakistan in the 2014 T20 World Cup. This also became one of the rare para-national teams in the history of the T20 World Cup to score more than 100 opening stands, and was also the second time a para-national team won a World Cup match by 10 wickets.For a country as famous for their football as Italy, the victory marked a landmark moment and showcased their growing influence in international cricket. The performance of the Mosca brothers will be remembered as one of the finest moments of the tournament and a proud chapter in the journey of Italian cricket.
