Italy achieved their historical first victory against an ICC full member by defeating Ireland through a four-wicket score at the third T20 World Cup warm-up match which took place in Dubai on Monday.
Ireland had already secured the series victory with their 2-0 lead after winning the first two matches that took place on Friday and Sunday. Paul Stirling who opened the innings for Ireland scored 45 runs with three sixes and two fours to establish their total of 154 which they achieved through all their wickets in 19.4 overs.
The middle-order batsmen Mark Adair and Ben Calitz both made valuable contributions to the team's scoring through their respective scores of 25 and 22 runs. Ireland lost their last four batsmen who scored only 16 runs during two overs which ended their batting session with two balls remaining.
Italy's bowling attack received its leadership from Crishan Kalugamage who achieved 3-28 while Grant Stewart and JJ Smuts both took two wickets. Italy began their run chase in a difficult situation because Wayne Madsen scored 39 runs as their highest run scorer before his team reached 108-5.
Gian-Piero Meade fell shortly after with the score at 111, leaving Italy needing 44 runs from 23 balls to pull off the win. The seventh-wicket partnership between Stewart and Marcus Campopiano produced a crucial 46-run stand which enabled Italy to win the match with three balls remaining. Matthew Humphreys and Mark Adair finished with matching figures of 2-23 from four overs each to lead Ireland’s bowling effort.
The T20 World Cup in February served as a testing ground which both teams used to evaluate their player rosters during the UAE series. Ireland will play co-hosts Sri Lanka in their World Cup opener on 8 February and later face Australia, Oman and Zimbabwe in Group B.
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On February 9, debutants Italy will start their tournament match against Scotland while England West Indies and Nepal will join them in Group C. Before the main tournament begins, Ireland will stay in Dubai for a two-match series against the UAE, with games scheduled for Thursday and Saturday.
THE SQUADS:
Ireland: Paul Stirling (c), George Dockrell, Ben White, Craig Young, Barry McCarthy, Mark Adair, Josh Little, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, Ben Calitz (wk), Tim Tector, Ross Adair, Matthew Humphreys.
Italy: JJ Smuts, Wayne Madsen (c), Grant Stewart, Benjamin Manenti, Gian-Piero Meade (wk), Jaspreet Singh, Harry Manenti, Crishan Kalugamage, Syed Naqvi, Ali Hasan, Marcus Campopiano (wk), Zain Ali, Justin Mosca, Anthony Mosca, Thomas Draca.
