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Italy will make their maiden appearance at the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka and India next year after coming second in the Europe qualifiers.
The Italians made sure of their spot at the global showpiece despite a nine-wicket defeat against the Netherlands, who is qualified for the major tournament, in The Hague.
After being restricted to a total of 134-7 in their innings, Italy needed to hold Netherlands for at least 15 overs in order to qualify.
Michael Levitt (34) and Max O'Dowd (47 not out) got the hosts off to a flier in the powerplay that took the momentum away from Italy early on but the visitors made sure to stretch the match till the 17th over to help themselves book a berth to India and Sri Lanka next year.
The experienced spinner Roelof van der Merwe (3-15) helped Netherlands restrict Italy to a moderate total picking three wickets and giving away just 15 runs in his four overs.
Italy kept losing wickets in regular intervals and couldn't stitch together a partnership to sustain the innings as Kyle Klein's (2-27) spell aided by van der Merwe's tight bowling didn't allow the visitors to score easily.
A steady knock by Benjamin Manenti (30) and a late blitz by Grant Stewart (25) pushed Italy to a total of 134-7 in their 20 overs, which Netherlands eventually chased down comfortably, but it was enough for Italy to qualify for their first-ever World Cup tournament.
