Italy narrowly defeated Vanuatu by two wickets to secure the final berth in the Cricket World Cup Challenge League framework and maintain their hopes of qualifying for the 2027 World Cup. In the tight contest played on the outskirts of the Malaysian city, Italy captain and coach Gareth Berg saw his home nation, driving Patrick Matautaava to finish the chase alongside No. 10 Jaspreet Singh at UKM Oval. Berg, who had earlier in the day taken 1-13 (6), produced a fate-changing unbeaten 14 from 13 balls in the chase of 103, which not only preserved chances for World Cup 2027 but also secured significant money through the Challenge League pathway. The relieved captain/coach attributed their success to their team’s discipline as well as the encouragement of the remaining Italian players, who helped the team perform at its peak in Malaysia.
After the game, Berg declared, “It’s a massive victory for us.” “Our lads make me proud. For the past three weeks, we haven’t wavered. There are no accidents or injuries on the field. There are lads who are still in the high-performance group who are sitting at home, but overall, I’m quite happy about the squad we have right now,” the player stated. “We’ve got a great bunch of guys that we’ve looked after in terms of fitness, and that’s another box tick for us, which is what we came to this tournament to do,” he expressed, according to an ICC report. Azzurri skipper Josh Rasu and fellow spinner Tim Cutler came on in the third and fourth overs as Vanuatu, well aware of the consequences of losing, gave it their all. Even though they lost, Tim Cutler, the CEO of the National Cricket Association, bowled alongside Rasu and took 5-32 (10) to win Player of the Match. Tim Cutler took 2-35 from his ten overs.
Meanwhile, the rain introduced another element to the proceedings. Italy would have taken the final position if there had been a tie or no result, but once the 20th over was ended, DLS calculations took effect. Vanuatu lead on DLS after Nicholas Maiolo bunted a ball back to Rasu for an easy catch and bowled on 23. Gian- Piero Meade then lost to Matautaava (1/9) by leg and wicket with a score of 91/8, which was the DLS par at that point.With Italy requiring 12, Jaspreet left the field. As the pressure increased, the lower order batsman took on Matautaava, hitting his advanced cover drive past the crowded field for four. After the stroke produced three numbers, his captain was hit by a single two balls later. Berg hit the winning runs over the cover infielder on the following ball, which he perceived as the delivery to secure Italy’s berth. As he snuck back home, Italy’s captain praised Vanuatu’s relentless push. “The guys from Vanuatu bowled really well, putting pressure on all of us.” And even with (their) modest score on the scoreboard, we could feel the strain. It’s a humorous game. We were attempting to be as composed as possible while yet trying to take in as deeply as we could. Some of us have participated in high-stress cricket matches in the past.”
Kuwait amassed 296 from their 50 overs, and Mohammad Amin’s 73 was sufficient to earn Player of the Match honors. Any Tanzanian comeback was thwarted by Yasin Patel’s 4/51, with Salum Jumbe Ally (51) being the only player to reach fifty-one. The already-eliminated Bermuda team failed to overcome Bahrain in Bayuemas, failing to reach a DLS goal of 162 in 25 overs.
Prashant Kurup’s 79 (103) opened the way for Bahrain’s 238; however, Derrick Brangman’s left-arm orthodox spin, which claimed 4/48 (9) to wrap up a commendable tournament with the ball, partly countered it. After hitting a career-high 40* from 42 balls with the bat, Brangman was dismissed by Bahrain’s bowlers for a 3/13 (5) by fellow left-arm spinner Abdul Majid Abbasi.
Along with Bahrain, Kuwait, Tanzania, and Italy, the twelve-team competition will be divided into two groups of six for the 2027 World Cup cycle.
When League 2 concludes, the top two teams from each Challenge League group will join the bottom four teams in the Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off.
