The ICC men’s T20 World Cup was filled with drama on the last day of Europe Qualifier, in which all four teams are still in the race to qualify. Finally, both the Netherlands and Italy booked their tickets for the 2026 T20 World Cup, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka. This is a historical moment for Italy, who has qualified for the T20 World Cup for the first time. Despite losing to the Netherlands, Italy managed to undergo a net run rate. After scoring 134/7, Italy needed to ensure that the Netherlands did not pursue the target very quickly to maintain the required NRR. Even though Dutch left for Michael Levit and Max O’Dod to start a rapid start, Italy managed to spread the game to the 17th over – just enough to seal its location. Earlier, the Netherlands banned Italy well with the ball. Rolloff van der Merve was a pickle of bowlers, he took 3 wickets for just 15 runs in 4 overs. Kylle Klein also kept things tight on his behalf. Italy struggled to create a big participation and lost the wickets. However, a steady knock from Benjamin Mananti and a quick finish by Grant Stewart helped them reach 134/7. The Netherlands easily chased the target, but Italy also won a historic victory in the process. Meanwhile, Jersey first missed the merit despite the beating of Scotland. On the last day, the equation for merit was that both Jersey and Italy would qualify when the teams win. However, if Jersey and the Netherlands wins, it will qualify on the basis of pure run rate with only one Dutch from Italy and Jersey.
Voting
Which team’s qualifications for the 2026 T20 World Cup surprised you the most?
So far, 15 teams have qualified for the 2026 ICC men’s T20 World Cup. Three and the Asia-East Asia Pacific qualifiers and two from Africa qualifiers will come.
