Match 7 of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will see debutants Italy take on Scotland at the iconic Eden Gardens. Playing in their first-ever ICC World Cup tournament, the Italians will look to give it their all, while the Scots are late entrants following Bangladesh’s controversial withdrawal.
Here, we present our preview and predictions for the game.
Scotland start as the favourites here, with Richie Berrington and Co kicking off their seventh T20 World Cup campaign against debutants Italy.
With the bat, Michael Jones and George Munsey are going to partner the experienced Mark Watt at the top of the Scottish batting line-up, with Brandon McMullen, Berrington, and Tom Bruce making up an experienced middle order. Watt, McMullen and Berrington have got runs under their belts in the warm-up games.
With the ball, Scotland have a settled line-up with the likes of Safyaan Sharif, Watt, Brad Wheal, and Brad Currie, with McMullen and Michael Leask also more than handy with the ball.
Italy, meanwhile, are the unknown team in the event, playing their first-ever World Cup. Justin and Anthony Mosca play at the top of the order, with former South Africa batter JJ Smuts being their most experienced player with the bat, with captain Wayne Madsen also boasting tons of franchise and List A cricket under his belt.
In the bowling department, Italy have a host of bowling options in Ben Manenti, Grant Stewart, Ali Hasan, and Thomas Draca, among others.
The Eden Gardens pitch has brought about plenty of runs in T20 cricket over the last couple of years. While runs will be on offer in this game as well, the difference in the quality of the two teams means that we may be in for a low-scoring affair if Italy bat first.
Scotland are our heavy favourites for this one and should come out on top against the T20 World Cup debutants.
Fantasy XI: George Munsey, Brandon McMullen (vc), JJ Smuts, Wayne Madsen, Richie Berrington, Ben Manenti, Gian-Piero Meade (wk), Mark Watt (c), Michael Leask, Brad Wheal, Grant Stewart
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Winners Prediction: Scotland
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