World Cup: Scotland Bring In Brad Wheal In Place Of Safyaan Sharif
Italy will step on the field for the first time in a Cricket World Cup. The European nation will take on Scotland at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in the seventh match of the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Both teams will look to win the game and register their first win of the tournament in order to be in good rhythm for the matches to come.
If we talk about the form of both teams coming into the tournament, Italy played magnificently in the regional qualifiers to book a spot in the main tournament for the first time. Having said that, Italy will miss the services of Joe Burns, who played a vital role in taking the team where it is now.
Scotland, on the other hand, will look to bounce back in a strong manner, having lost their opening match of the tournament against the West Indies by a margin of 35 runs. All eyes will be on the team’s captain, Richie Berrington, to lead from the front. As far as the combination of the team is concerned, the management has made one change by bringing in Brad Wheal in place of Safyaan Sharif.
World Cup: Captain’s Corner
Wayne Madsen, the Italian captain, after winning the toss, said that they would be bowling first, the reason being the wicket, which looks good for batting, meaning that defending the score might be difficult.
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Whereas the Scottish captain, Richie Berrington, was of the opinion that they are happy batting first as there will be value for shots. He also hoped that the team would be able to post a big total on the board.
World Cup: Playing XI
Scotland: George Munsey, Michael Jones, Brandon McMullen, Richie Berrington (c), Tom Bruce, Matthew Cross (wk), Mark Watt, Michael Leask, Oliver Davidson, Brad Wheal, Brad Currie
Italy: Justin Mosca, Anthony Mosca, JJ Smuts, Wayne Madsen (c), Harry Manenti, Ben Manenti, Gian Meade (wk), Grant Stewart, Crishan Kalugamage, Ali Hasan, Thomas Draca
World Cup: Pitch Report and Conditions
The pitch at the Eden Gardens wasn’t as easy as it was expected to be in the first six overs in the first match of the World Cup played at this venue between West Indies and Scotland, and is predicted to not change much in 48 hours time when Scotland takes on Italy in their second match of the ongoing edition.
Having said that, if the batters are willing to spend sme time on the surface, things will get easy and they will be able to make up for the slow start if the team batting first does not lose wickets early in the innings.
Also Read: SL vs IRE, T20 World Cup 2026: Sri Lanka Defeats Ireland By 20 Runs
