T20 World Cup Qualifier: Italy shock Scotland, close in on maiden spot in extravaganza in India, Sri Lanka
Italy moved closer to qualifying for their first-ever ICC Men's T20 World Cup after securing a 12-run victory over Scotland in the Europe Regional Final. The win keeps Italy at the top of the standings with a net run rate of 1.722, positioning them favourably for qualification to the 2026 T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in India and Sri Lanka.
The Italian team, led by former Australian Test player
Joe Burns
, now needs either a victory over the Netherlands in their final match on Friday or a narrow loss combined with Jersey and Scotland failing to win their respective matches by significant margins.
Italy's position in the tournament standings shows them well ahead of third-placed Jersey (0.430) and fourth-placed Scotland (-0.150) in terms of net run rate, giving them a considerable advantage heading into the final matches.
"I am really proud of the boys for this moment," Burns said. "To come and beat Scotland, who are a fantastic team, is a nice reward for sacrifices our players, staff and federation have made."
"Hopefully this is the stepping stone for a lot to come. It's a very emotional group at the moment. Being on the verge of a World Cup? It's very surreal."
Italy also hold a strategic advantage in the tournament schedule, as their match against the Netherlands is the final game of the tournament, taking place after the Jersey-Scotland contest.
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This scheduling allows Italy to know exactly what they need to achieve in their match against the Dutch.
The situation requires Jersey and Scotland to adopt aggressive approaches in their earlier match to improve their net run rates and maintain their qualification hopes.
Scotland's captain Richie Berrington acknowledged his team's disappointing performance against Italy while maintaining hope for qualification.
"We kept ourselves in it but just didn't manage to execute at the end," he said. "A lot of the credit has to go to Italy, who out-skilled us with the ball in those conditions."
"Obviously today's a tough one, but it's important we learn what we can from this game. We will be looking to come back strong."
"We have to focus on coming back on Friday and looking to win that game then the rest takes of itself."
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