Spinners Crishan Kalugamage and Ben Manenti helped debutants Italy to a historic first win at the cricket T20 World Cup with a 10-wicket hammering of Nepal on Thursday.

Kalugamage (3-18) and Manenti (2-9) combined to bowl out Nepal for 123, a total Italy’s openers overhauled with 44 balls to spare in their second match at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.

Brothers Justin Mosca, who made 60, and Anthony Mosca, who hit 62, tore into the opposition attack with fours and sixes to fire their team to a win.

A nation better known for its football, Italy are cricket minnows and the lowest-ranked side in the 20-team tournament.

They lost their opener to Scotland in Group C but bounced back.

Nepal were a far cry from the team that ran England close on Sunday at the same venue as they collapsed from 93-3 to be bundled out in 19.3 overs.

“It’s pretty extraordinary really. It’s something a lot of people in Italy, a lot of people in this group, have dreamed of,” Italy’s stand-in skipper Harry Manenti said.

“We didn’t quite nail it the other day but we backed up today and showed the world what we’ve got.”

Italy were without skipper Wayne Madsen, who dislocated his shoulder in the first loss, but came out roaring after they won the toss and elected to field first.

Leg-spinner Kalugamage sent back skipper Rohit Paudel for 23 and Manenti, who opened the bowling attack, took down Aasif Sheikh, for 20, with his off-spin.

“I always wanted to help the team to win a match and do my best for my nation, Italy — I’m happy,” player of the match Kalugamage said.

“These are my brothers. I’m really happy.”

Aasif Sheikh attempted to rebuild in 27 but Italy bowlers were unrelenting in their pursuit of wickets and the Nepal batting came crashing down.

“We need to be more consistent and today was the day to prove that, but not taking away the credit from Italy,” said Paudel.

“They played really well today and credit must go to them.”

The Mosca brothers then struck eight fours and nine sixes between them to leave the Nepal bowlers in agony.

The win made Italy jump to third and England slip to fourth in the group led by the West Indies.

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HOBART: Pakistan suffered yet another defeat in the FIH Pro League as world champions Germany thumped the Green Shirts 5-2 at the Tasmania Hockey Centre on Wednesday.

The result once again exposed the national team’s defensive frailties despite a vibrant second-half response. Germany struck early through Christopher Ruhr, who slotted home in the fifth minute to give the Europeans a 1-0 lead.

The Germans doubled their advantage in the 16th minute when Tom Grambusch converted a penalty corner, putting Pakistan on the back foot.

Pakistan found a lifeline just before half-time as teenager Mohammad Ammad pulled one back in the 18th minute with a well-taken finish, raising hopes of a comeback. However, Germany restored their two-goal cushion before the interval when Benedikt Schwarzhaupt scored from a set-piece in the 24th minute, leaving Pakistan trailing 3-1 at the break.

The third quarter proved disastrous for Pakistan. Malte Hellwig extended Germany’s lead in the 41st minute before Raphael Hartkopf added another less than a minute later, making it 5-1.

Pakistan’s misery was compounded when Ghazanfar Ali received a green card. Germany were then awarded a penalty stroke, but the 32-year-old Ruhr failed to convert, missing the target.

Pakistan showed resolve in the final quarter. Sufyan Khan, 21, converted a penalty corner in the 57th minute to reduce the deficit to 5-2.

The match ended in chaotic scenes as Pakistan’s Mohammad Abdullah and Tom Grambusch rec­eived yellow cards in the final seconds following a heated exchange.

Abdullah had earned a penalty corner with five seconds remaining, but the final hooter sounded before Pakistan could execute.

The defeat is Pakistan’s fifth consecutive loss in this year’s Pro League, following four reverses in Argentina and Tuesday’s narrow 3-2 defeat to Australia.

Pakistan face Australia again on Friday before concluding the second-leg against Germany on Saturday.

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2026

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BERLIN: Freiburg squeezed into the German Cup semi-finals after a 5-4 penalty shootout win at Hertha Berlin on Wednesday, following a 1-1 draw after extra time.

After a goalless 90 minutes, Yuito Suzuki finally broke the deadlock in extra time, only for Hertha captain Fabian Reese to equalise with a superb long-range strike.

Freiburg goalkeeper Florian Mueller then saved Pascal Klemens’ spot-kick in the shootout to send his side through, joining Bayer Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart in the last four.

Bayern Munich host RB Leipzig in the other quarter-final.

Hertha welcomed 2022 runners-up Freiburg to Berlin hoping to reach a German Cup final on home soil for the first time in their history.

A close offside call ruled out an early effort from Reese, while the visitors did not have a solid chance until the 70th minute, when Vincenzo Grifo’s deflected shot flew just wide.

Six minutes into extra time, Hertha’s Linus Gechter gifted Suzuki the ball with a poor back-pass, and the Japan international pounced to put the visitors in front.

Hertha hit back through Reese, who drilled in a magnificent strike from outside the area, but Freiburg ultimately had the final say in the shootout.

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2026

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