'Showed the world what we've got’: Harry Manenti after Italy upset Nepal to record first-ever T20 World Cup win

Italy's stand-in captain Harry Manenti was over the moon following his team's historic 10-wicket win over Nepal in the 2026 T20 World Cup in Mumbai on Thursday.

After dismissing Nepal for 123, openers Justin Mosca (60*) and Anthony Mosca (62*) made light work of the run chase, sealing the deal in just 12.4 overs. This was debutant Italy's maiden victory at any World Cup tournament.

Italy had won the toss and opted to field against Nepal. The Italians tormented Nepal time and again, leaving the opposition no room for improvement. Crishan Kalugamage (3/18) and Ben Manenti (2/9) were the pick of the bowlers for Italy.

“When we qualified, that was obviously a special moment, but our goal was always to compete at this level and compete in this top competition, and we showed that today," Harry said after the match. We didn't quite nail it the other day (Against Scotland), but we backed it up today and showed the world what we've got," he added.

Italy were missing their regular skipper Wayne Madsen for the game against Nepal after he had dislocated his shoulder during the match against Scotland. While he did not give a timeframe on Madsen’s possible return, he hoped that their regular skipper would "return soon".

"Yeah, obviously, it hurt us losing our leader and our captain, Wayne, and I hope he's back really soon, but the boys regrouped really well. It was obviously a shock to the system in that fourth over when it happened, and we probably didn't quite nail it from then on and got out of our hand," Harry stated.

The win over Nepal has taken Italy to third place in Group C standings, with two points from as many games. They are ahead of England on net run-rate (NRR). England are currently in fourth place with two points from two games, having beaten Nepal but losing to West Indies.

Italy will next take on England in Kolkata on February 16, before facing West Indies at the same venue three days later. The top two teams from each of the four groups qualify for the Super 8 stage, and Italy will need to work hard if they are to achieve their dream of progressing further.