Nepal have struggled against Italy in their second group-stage fixture of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The Rhinos could only post 123 runs in the first inning against the Azzurri at Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.

Wankhede is a high-scoring ground. Nepal showed they could utilise the conditions of Wankhede by their performance against England on Sunday. However, they could only manage 123, which is the second-lowest total ever in T20I at Wankhede.

The lowest total at Wankhede in T20I was made by England. The Lions were bundled out at 97 runs by India on February 2 last year.

Previously, the second-lowest total at Wankhede was 132/8 by the USA in the 2026 T20 World Cup opener on February 7.

Losing the toss, Nepal were invited to bat first. The openers could not do enough as Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh departed at 5 off 10 and 20 off 20, respectively.

Aarif Sheikh was the highest scorer for Nepal at 27 off 24, and was followed by skipper Rohit Kumar Paudel (23 off 14).

Dipendra Singh Airee (17 off 18) and Karan KC (18 off 11) showed some fight, but could not stay at the crease for long. Lokesh Bam and Gulshan Kumar Jha could not reach individual double figures.

Italy had disciplined bowling. They only gave away two wides, while only one bowler—Grant Stewart—was wicketless.

Crishan Kalugamage bagged three wickets, Ben Manenti took two, and Ali Hasan, JJ Smuts and Jaspreet Singh picked one each. Nandan Yadav and Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi were run out.

Nepali bowlers will now have to defend 124 runs in 120 balls to keep the Rhinos’ hopes high for the Super 8.