Scotland eased to their first win at the T20 World Cup with a dominant 73-run victory over Italy at Eden Gardens.
Tournament debutants Italy were dealt a major blow early in the Scotland innings when captain Wayne Madsen went off injured.
The 42-year-old suffered a suspected dislocated shoulder attempting to stop a four from George Munsey and was ruled out of the rest of the match.
Munsey went on to hit 84, sharing a 126-run stand for the first wicket with Michael Jones – who chipped in with 37.
Michael Leask rounded off the innings by clubbing 22 off five balls as Scotland, beaten by West Indies in their first match, racked up 207 for four.
Leask then removed Italy opener Justin Mosca first ball on his way to four wickets as Italy. Munsey picked up a superb diving catch for that first wicket off the first ball.
Despite a 52 from Ben Manenti, Italy were ultimately dismissed for 134.
Benjamin and his brother Harry Manenti (37) briefly threatened the tall target with a 73-run stand before both fell in successive overs and Italy lost the last six wickets for 21 runs.
“I imagine everyone will be flat in the dressing room and disappointed,” vice-captain Harry Manenti said.
“We wanted to show the world what we have. We get another chance in a few days’ time and hopefully we can bounce back.”
Under-prepared Scotland, which replaced Bangladesh, lost to the West Indies at the same venue in its first game, but came back strongly to get its first points in the tournament.
Scotland originally missed out after losing to Italy in the qualifiers, but was drafted in late as a replacement for Bangladesh in Group C. The ICC rejected the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s request to shift its games from India to Sri Lanka due to security concerns.
“Really important for us to bounce back strong,” Scotland captain Richie Berrington said. “It was a comprehensive win but had to work hard for it.
“We will enjoy this win and then we will start preparing for the game against England.”
