T20 Qualifier of the World Cup: Italy Shock Scotland, Close in On Maiden Spot in Extravaganza in India, Sri Lanka | Cricket news

Italy got closer to qualify for their very first male T20 World Cup ICC after winning a 12 -point victory on Scotland in the regional final in Europe. Victory maintains Italy at the top of the classification with a net execution rate of 1.722, positioning them favorably for qualification for the T20 2026 World Cup planned to stand in India and Sri Lanka.The Italian team, led by former Australian test player Joe Burns, now needs a victory over the Netherlands in his last match on Friday, a close defeat combined in Jersey and Scotland who do not win their respective games by important margins.The position of Italy in the tournament classification shows them in front of the third jersey (0.430) and the fourth Scotland (-0,150) in terms of net execution rate, giving them a considerable advantage in front of the final matches.“I’m really proud of boys for this moment,” said Burns. “Coming and beat Scotland, which is a fantastic team, is a great reward for the sacrifices that our players, our staff and our federation have made.”“I hope it is the springboard for many to come. It is a very emotional group at the moment. Being on the verge of a World Cup? It is very surreal.”Italy also has a strategic advantage in the tournament calendar because their match against the Netherlands is the last match of the tournament, which takes place after the Jersey-Scotland competition. This planning allows Italy to know exactly what they have to achieve in their match against the Dutch.The situation obliges Jersey and Scotland to adopt aggressive approaches in their previous match to improve their net execution rates and maintain their hopes for qualification.The Scottish captain Richie Berrington has recognized the disappointing performance of his team against Italy while maintaining the hope of qualification.“We kept ourselves in it, but we failed to execute at the end,” he said. “A large part of the credit must go to Italy, which overcome us with the ball under these conditions.”“Obviously, today, it is difficult, but it is important that we learn what we can from this game. We will seek to come back hard.”“We have to focus on the return on Friday and try to win this match, so the rest takes itself.”