In the seventh match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, Scotland are set to lock horns with Italy in a highly talked-about group C, along with the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Monday, February 12. Both teams will definitely like to take vital points as the tournament begins to take centre stage.
Scotland Aim for Comeback at Eden Gardens
The SCO vs ITA clash sees Scotland come into it with a sense of urgency, having gone through a rotten spell in their recent T20I matches. Scotland have lost three T20 cricket matches in a row, with their last game against the West Indies ending in loss.
Especially when a place in the qualification is at stake, Scotland will be eager to put things right and return to winning ways, and a win in this match could see them go into the next phase with a renewed sense of hope.
Italy Look to Continue Their Fairytale Run
Italy have been one of the surprises of the T20 World Cup 2026, reaching the expanded 20-team tournament in qualifying. In the qualification tournaments, Italy were led by batter Joe Burns, but he is not in the squad now.
Wayne Madsen, who was just named the new captain of the Italian national team, will look to prove that Italy’s qualifying was no fluke. This will be a good test for Italy’s strength and adaptability against Scotland in their match against one another.
SCO vs ITA: Match Details
Match: Scotland vs Italy, Match 7
Tournament: ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026
Date & Time: Monday, February 9, 11:00 AM (IST)
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Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Live Broadcast: JioStar Network Channels
Live Streaming: JioHotstar (App & Website)
As far as the pitch is concerned, the Eden Gardens pitch is generally a good surface with good scoring opportunities, especially at the start of the match. However as the match progresses, bowlers, particularly spin bowlers should find their scores improved greatly as the games progress .
Interestingly, 60% of the last five T20Is played at Eden Gardens since 2022 have been won by teams defending a total. Winning the toss and batting first could be a smart strategy in the SCO vs ITA encounter.
SCO vs ITA Head-to-Head Record (T20Is)
Matches Played: 2
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Scotland Wins: 1
Italy Wins: 1
No Result/Tied: 0
First Match: July 24, 2023 (Scotland won)
Most Recent Match: July 9, 2025 (Italy won)
The head-to-head record suggests a closely contested rivalry heading into this SCO vs ITA clash.
SCO vs ITA: Predicted Playing XIs
Scotland
George Munsey, Michael Jones, Brandon McMullen, Richie Berrington (c), Tom Bruce, Matthew Cross (wk), Mark Watt, Michael Leask, Oliver Davidson, Safyaan Sharif, Brad Currie
Italy
Justin Mosca, Anthony Mosca, JJ Smuts, Wayne Madsen (c), Harry Manenti, Gian-Piero Meade (wk), Grant Stewart, Marcus Campopiano, Jaspreet Singh, Ali Hasan, Crishan Kalugamage
SCO vs ITA: Probable Best Performers
Probable Best Batter – George Munsey (Scotland)
George Munsey is still the lead nut for Scotland. With 2 half-centuries included, George Munsey has collected 179 runs in his last five T20I innings for the team. Since he recently played at Eden Gardens, he should know the conditions quite well.
Probable Best Bowler – JJ Smuts (Italy)
For Italy, this would be the first global outing by the former South African all-rounder JJ Smuts. Smuts brings his clever variations and disciplined bowling into a game, which might just prove to be a game-changer. Actually, he has the potential to make a difference in the SCO vs ITA fixture because he can easily mix the pace and target wickets.
SCO vs ITA Match Prediction: Who Will Win?
While Scotland has a lot of experience playing abroad, Italy’s recent growth as a team and the fact that they have equal players in both batting and bowling make for a great playing group overall. The weather conditions at Eden Gardens favour one team batting first (putting pressure on their opponent.
Prediction:
- If Scotland’s first four score well, they will be at a slight advantage.
- If the bowlers of Italy come good early, a huge upset could be on the cards.
Verdict: It seems like SCO vs ITA will be a real nail-biter because, though Scotland are favorites for the match but Italy looks fully prepared to surprise them.
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