Cricket Kitchen

Nepal to Face Italy Today

February 12, 2026

Kathmandu – Nepal will play Italy in their second match of the T20 World Cup being held in India and Sri Lanka. The match will begin at 3:15 PM in Mumbai, India.

Nepal will face Italy for the first time in T20 Internationals. This will be their first meeting in the T20 format. However, the two teams have faced each other three times in the 50-over format.

Nepal has won all three previous encounters against Italy. In the 2001 ICC Trophy held in Canada, both teams were placed in the same group, but Italy withdrew from the tournament at the last moment, so the match did not take place.

Their first meeting occurred in 2005 during the World Cup Qualifier Division 2 in Malaysia, where Nepal defeated Italy. In that match, Shakti Gauchan scored an unbeaten 106 off 103 balls — Nepal’s first century against a European nation.

In 2010, during the World Cup League Division 4 hosted by Italy, Nepal defeated Italy by 5 wickets. Amrit Bhattarai took an important 3 wickets in that match.

Their third and most recent meeting was in 2013 in Bermuda during the World Cup League Division 3, where Nepal won by 8 wickets.

Although both teams participated in the 2012 and 2013 T20 World Cup Global Qualifiers, they were in different groups and did not face each other.

Italy qualified for the T20 World Cup for the first time by progressing through the European regional qualifiers. They lost their debut match to Scotland by 73 runs.

Nepal, playing their third T20 World Cup, cannot afford to lose against Italy if they aim to reach the Super Eight. After losing their first match to England by 4 runs, Nepal are under pressure. However, with three matches still remaining, their chances of finishing in the top two of Group ‘C’ and reaching the Super Eight are not over.

Nepal still have matches left against West Indies and Scotland. In this World Cup, the top two teams from each five-team group will qualify for the Super Eight.

Nepal had the opportunity to practice at Wankhede Stadium last Tuesday. Being familiar with the venue could be a significant advantage for today’s match. Nepal will play all four of their group-stage matches at Wankhede Stadium, making them the only team to play all group matches at a single venue in this tournament.