Italy stun Ireland with historic upset just before T20 World Cup 2026

Italy defeat Ireland in 3rd T20I [Source: @cricketireland/x]

Italy stunned Ireland in the third T20I of their three-match series at the 7he Sevens Stadium in Dubai. The historic outcome occurred mere days prior to the launch of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, with the landmark win underlining Italy’s rapid rise and announcing them as a side capable of springing up a few surprises at the showpiece event.

The win marked Italy’s first-ever victory against a full-member ICC nation as the Wayne Madsen-led team avoided a certain 0-3 whitewash in the UAE.

29th-ranked Italy stun 11th-ranked Ireland in David vs Goliath T20I upset

Italy, ranked 29th in the world’s ICC T20I team rankings, trounced 11th-ranked Ireland cricket team in the third T20I of their three-match series in Dubai.

Winning the toss and bowling first, Italy fast bowler Grant Stewart (2-27) and left-arm spinner JJ Smuts (2-18) picked up two wickets in the Irish innings. While Smuts struck in the middle-overs of the innings, Stewart mopped up the Ireland tail in the slog overs.

Crishan Kalugamage unfurled the spell of the day with his impressive figures of 3-28 as Italy folded up the entire Ireland batting line-up for 154 inside the final over of the innings.

For Ireland, captain and senior opener Paul Stirling top-scored with his 45-run knock from 38 balls. The likes of Ben Calitz (22 off 12) and Mark Adair (25 off 21) also chipped in with crucial 20s.

Chasing 155, the inexperienced Italy team slipped to 44-3, and eventually to 68-4 around the halfway stage of the innings. Captain Wayne Madsen led Italy’s batting charge amidst tumbling wickets with a cunning 30-ball 39.

When Italy required 16 runs off the remaining six deliveries, Grant Stewart blasted three successive sixes off Barry McCarthy to seal the game with four wickets and three balls to spare. Stewart himself finished at 33* off 19 as Italy avoided a 0-3 T20I series whitewash after losing the first two matches of the tour.

The outcome? Both Italy and Ireland suffered contrasting fates on the updated ICC team rankings in T20Is.

While Italy gained a couple of rungs to jump to number 27 on the rankings, Ireland slipped to number 12 on the latest charts.

What the win means for Italy

The Italy cricket team is bracing itself for the upcoming 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, their first-ever cricket World Cup appearance in any format. They qualified for the same by finishing runners-up at the 2025 Men’s T20 World Cup Europe Regional Final last year in Netherlands.

The historic win will serve as a massive confidence boost for Italy, reinforcing their belief that they can compete with higher-ranked nations heading into their maiden T20 World Cup campaign in India and Sri Lanka next month.

Ireland served a reality check before T20 World Cup

The Ireland team is placed in Group B of the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup next month alongside the likes of Australia, Oman, Zimbabwe and tournament co-hosts Sri Lanka.

Their latest defeat against Italy served as a timely reality check just weeks before the global tournament. Nonetheless, the Ireland cricket team still has time to rejuvenate itself through an upcoming two-match T20I series against hosts UAE in Dubai this week.