T20 World Cup: Schedule | Points table
After winning the toss, Italy stand-in captain Manenti said: “We’re going to bowl today. There were obviously some nerves, like any international cricket match. I think it just didn’t go our way that day. There were a few things that obviously didn’t go our way. Losing our captain, Wayne Madsen, was probably the turning point and then we didn’t handle Scotland in a good game at the moment. And we’ve got another good side in Nepal today so we’re really looking forward to it, he’s played a lot cricket for Italy and I’m really looking forward to watching him.
“All the time we have been focused on bravery. We are playing against teams that are way above us in the world rankings and from the outside looking in we are outsiders. But in our team we have a strong belief in our abilities. We try to be brave and keep playing and hopefully we will see that today. We have moved on a bit since then and we have moved on the scene in Italy since then,” he added.
Nepal captain Rohit Paudel said: “Honestly, we would bowl. The pitch is something we can’t control. We will make the most of batting first. It is the same wicket where the last game was played and it should spin in the second innings, so we will try to take advantage of that. I think it is a big advantage playing in all our Asian conditions. We will try to make the most of it.”
“We felt that was an area we could improve from the last game, in both departments – batting and bowling. The last three to four overs were very crucial for us. That’s where we need to keep our nerve, absorb the pressure and be present in the moment. It’s great to have fans like them; they motivate us a lot. We saw a lot of social media posts after the England game that all the lads were watching,” he added.
Playing XI:
Nepal: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wk), Rohit Paudel (c), Dipendra Singh Airee, Aarif Sheikh, Lokesh Bam, Gulsan Jha, Karan KC, Nandan Yadav, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi
Italy: Anthony Mosca, Justin Mosca, JJ Smuts, Harry Mantenti (c), Ben Mannate, Marcus Campiano, Grant Stewart, Gian Meadage (wk), Jasrete Singh, Cretion Kalagamage, Ali Hasan.