Italy won the toss and elected to field against Scotland in the Group C match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup here at the iconic Eden Gardens.

While the two sides do not have a long history in T20 internationals, their recent encounters have produced contrasting results. Scotland and Italy have met twice in T20 internationals, with the head-to-head record evenly poised at 1–1. Their meetings have come in high-stakes ICC events, adding further significance to their rivalry.

Both teams have won three of their previous five T20I matches overall. Scotland began their recent run with two consecutive wins before suffering three straight defeats, while Italy opened with a win, endured three losses, and then bounced back with a victory in their most recent outing.

Italy are the latest team to join the World Cup, bringing momentum with them. Nine months ago, they defeated today’s opponents in the T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier, securing a historic 12-run win. They also recorded strong warm-up victories against Canada and the UAE in Chennai.

Winning the toss, Italy captain Wayne Madsen said, “Looks a really good wicket, think it’s going to be hard to defend. The moment is for us now. It’s about enjoying and expressing ourselves. We want to make our mark.”

Meanwhile, Scotland skipper Richie Berrington said, “Quite happy with that (batting), hopefully we put a good total on the board. We can take positives (from the last game) into this one. (On Italy) They are a really good game, expect it to be a good contest. Just one change. Brad Wheal comes in for Sharif.”

Playing XIs:

Italy: Anthony Mosca, Justin Mosca, JJ Smuts, Wayne Madsen (c), Harry Manenti, Ben Manenti, Grant Stewart, Gian-Piero Meade (wk), Marcus Campopiano, Crishan Kalugamage, Ali Hasan

Scotland: George Munsey, Michael Jones, Brandon McMullen, Richie Berrington (c), Tom Bruce, Matthew Cross (wk), Mark Watt, Michael Leask, Oliver Davidson, Brad Wheal, Brad Currie

Source: IANS
--Agencies