The T20 World Cup 2026 continues on Day 3 with three thrilling matches lined up for cricket fans. The day will start at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, where Scotland will take on Italy at 11 am IST. Following that, Zimbabwe will face Oman at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo.
Lastly, South Africa, who were last year’s runners-up, will kick off their campaign against Canada at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. While many eyes will be on the Proteas, Italian football giants will be making their debut in the cricket World Cup, adding extra excitement.
Match Schedule
Scotland vs Italy: 11 am IST, Kolkata
Zimbabwe vs Oman: 3 pm IST, Colombo
South Africa vs Canada: 7 pm IST, Ahmedabad
Fans can catch all the action on Star Sports and live stream it on JioHotstar.
Match Preview
1. Scotland vs Italy
This match marks Italy’s historic debut in the ICC T20 World Cup. Known for their football prowess, Italy will now look to make a name in cricket after qualifying through the European regional qualifiers last July. They had a strong finish with surprising wins, including a notable victory over Scotland in the qualifiers.
Italy comes into this match riding high on a three-game winning streak, including warm-up victories against Canada and the UAE, capped off by their first-ever win against an ICC Full Member, Ireland.
Scotland, on the other hand, is looking to bounce back after losing their opening match by 35 runs to the West Indies, where only captain Richie Berrington shone with a score of 42 runs.
Historically, Scotland and Italy have had a competitive rivalry, including a recent close rugby match, and this also translates to cricket, where both teams have won one match each in their encounters.
Pitch Report:
Kolkata’s Eden Gardens is known for its balanced pitch, where both batsmen and bowlers can find their rhythm. Spinners often find good support here, while batters will need to settle in before unleashing their shots.
Predicted Teams:
Scotland: George Munsey, Matthew Cross (wk), Brandon McMullen, Michael Jones, Tom Bruce, Richie Berrington (c), Michael Leask, Oliver Davidson, Mark Watt, Brad Currie, Safyaan Sharif
Italy: Justin Mosca, Wayne Madsen (c), Harry Manenti, Anthony Mosca, JJ Smuts, Ben Manenti, Grant Stewart, Gian Meade (wk), Marcus Campopiano, Crishan Kalugamage, Ali Hasan
2. Zimbabwe vs Oman
Zimbabwe enters the tournament as the African regional qualifier champion but struggled in the build-up, suffering defeats against Afghanistan. They’re eager to make an impact after being eliminated in the group stage last time.
Oman qualified by finishing second in the Asia and EAP qualifiers. Though they faced challenges, they recently won their warm-up matches, including a notable victory against Zimbabwe, which boosts their confidence going into this match.
Pitch Report:
Colombo’s Sinhalese Sports Club has a pitch that supports spinners, while fast bowlers can also find success with clever variations. Batters need to be cautious before switching to aggressive play.
Predicted Teams:
Oman: Jatinder Singh (c), Hammad Mirza (wk), Ashish Odedra, Vinayak Shukla, Jiten Ramanandi, Aamir Kaleem, Nadeem Khan, Jay Odedra, Shakeel Ahmed, Sufyan Mehmood, Faisal Shah
Zimbabwe: Brendon Taylor (wk), Brian Bennett, Dion Mayers, Clive Madande, Sikandar Raza (c), Ryan Burl, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Graeme Cremer, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava
3. South Africa vs Canada
South Africa enters the tournament with renewed confidence after winning the World Test Championship last year. Despite a recent loss to India in warm-ups, they remain a competitive squad, eager to make it far after last year’s heartbreak in the final.
Canada qualified through the Americas Qualifier and hopes to improve upon their previous World Cup performance after being eliminated early last time. Although they’ve struggled in warm-ups, they’ll aim for an upset against a strong South African side.
Pitch Report:
At the Narendra Modi Stadium, the pitch generally favors teams batting first, with high average scores. While early dew can affect play, teams might still prefer to bat first to capitalize on favorable conditions.
Predicted Teams:
South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs, George Linde, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
Canada: Navneet Dhaliwal, Yuvraj Samra, Kanwarpal Tathgur, Nicholas Kirton, Dilpreet Bajwa (c), Harsh Thaker, Shreyas Movva (wk), Ansh Patel, Jaskaran Singh, Shivam Sharma, Dilon Heyliger
