"I think that was the best ball of my career."

Crishan Kalugamage beams as he recalls bamboozling Dipendra Singh Airee with a sharp-turning googly - the second of his three wickets that set up Italy's historic maiden T20 World Cup win.

The celebrations from that victory against Nepal went long into the evening. As Kalugamage will relate, the Italian contingent's road to their first World Cup hasn't been an easy one, and the emotion was visible on the 34-year old's face.

"I personally have no words to explain how I felt after the game," Kalugamage tells Cricbuzz. "It was very emotional for us because after a lot of sacrifice and hard work, we got that first victory. This is a dream come true for me. Before coming to the World Cup my goal was just to get the first wicket. I'm really happy and very emotional."

Behind Italy's matchwinner is the story of a young Sri Lankan cricket nut who ended up finding his way with the sport in a country detached from it.

Kalugamage was 16 when he moved to Italy with his brothers - a few years after his parents had already made the switch in search of better economic opportunities. His father took up work in a factory that specialised in painting yachts, and Kalugamage admits finding life difficult in the initial few years, coming to grips with cultural, culinary and linguistic barriers.

Prior to that was a childhood in the 90s in Marawila, a coastal town in the North Western Province of Sri Lanka. It was a time when the country boasted one of its finest generations of cricketers. The 1996 World Cup triumph is a moment that Kalugamage has vague memories of - he was just four years old at the time - but it would have a significant impact on his life.

"I didn't watch the matches because we didn't have a TV," Kalugamage says. "I heard about it on the radio with my grandfather. After that I watched every game Sri Lanka played. I really loved watching the Sri Lankan batters - Aravinda (de Silva), Sanath (Jayasuriya) and after that, (Kumar) Sangakkara and Mahela (Jayawardene)."

Soon enough, Kalugamage tried his hand at the sport too. A student of Marawila's St. Xavier's College, he was a part of the Under-13 setup under the watchful eyes of his coach Daminda Maliyaratne, whom he credits as a major factor behind being a professional cricketer today. Watching videos of Shane Warne drove him towards wrist spin, though upon migrating to Italy, that took a backseat.

"When I came to Italy, for the first four, five years I took part in athletics as a long jumper and 100-metre sprinter. I wasn't very tall then but after taking up athletics, I grew taller," Kalugamage narrates. That led to a switch in approach - he took up fast bowling as a tennis-ball cricketer, even as he was uncertain over his future in the sport in a land known for football and not cricket.

A cricket team was soon formed in 2013 in Lucca, where he plied his trade as a fast bowler. The game began to spread and Kalugamage played for multiple clubs over the next couple of years. In 2015 he moved to Roma Cricket Club, whom he continues to represent.

He continued his journey as a fast bowler, and while the thought of returning to Sri Lanka for greener pastures wasn't an option with his family in Italy, Kalugamage did have a pitstop there in 2019, bowling to some of the big household Sri Lankan names.

"I had a chance to play for Kandy Customs. I played a few T20 matches in the Division One Premier League as a fast bowler. I played some List A matches too. My debut was against Tamil Union Cricket Club who had Kamindu Mendis, Jeevan Mendis and Isuru Udana. I bowled the first over and got a wicket," Kalugamage says with a wide smile.

With the tribulations of fast bowling came a streak of injuries, casting a doubt over his future in the sport. Rekindling his roots with his first calling proved to be a wise move. "One day I tried bowling leg spin at my club and it worked. My coach Prabath Ekneligoda (also the founder of Roma Cricket Club) told me to start bowling leg spin again since it came naturally to me."

This proved to be the catalyst for an international career - success came Kalugamage's way as a wrist spinner at Roma Cricket Club, following which Gareth Berg, the former captain-coach of Italy, picked him for a few practice games in 2022. An international debut followed shortly after against Greece at the T20 World Cup Sub Regional Europe Qualifier. With figures of 3 for 11, Kalugamage made an instant impression, walking away as the Player of the Match.

Yet having financial security for his family remains a challenge. Kalugamage currently works as a pizza maker, but only on a part-time contract due to the time he spends on the road playing cricket. He has already lost multiple jobs to keep his cricket dreams alive. "You can't buy this with money," Kalugamage says, referring to his love for the sport.

All of which has made the victory over Nepal even more satisfying. "I didn't open my social media because there were too many messages. It's unreal for me - the first time (I've experienced something like this)," he remarks.

There has also been a significant amount of work required to make a success of being a wrist spinner. Kalugamage credits Sri Lanka's High Performance coach Anusha Samarayanake for helping him with certain technical aspects of his game. It was Samaranayake who brought Kalugamage on board as a net bowler during a camp in Dubai ahead of the World Cup, where he bowled to the Sri Lankan team, on the sidelines of which he picked the brains of Wanindu Hasaranga.

Connecting with another modern-day wrist spin master has also been beneficial. "He's a nice guy," Kalugamage says of Rashid Khan. "He gave me a few tricks for the googly.

These little pieces have formed the jigsaw of a wrist spinner with a whippy action, who is part of a unique Italian contingent where players of different heritages come together to represent the Azzurri.

"When I play with these guys, it feels like family," Kalugamage says. "We are a very united group and everyone helps each other. I think that's our main strength. It's fun when we stay together and when I go home I miss them. It's very nice to be here with them playing in the World Cup."

With two more group matches to go against the big boys, England and West Indies, Kalugamage and Italy dare to dream. Theirs is a success story already in so many ways, in what is 'a part-time job for us,' even as they hope to spark a cricketing revolution back home.

"We work five or six days a week and then play in the Sunday League. We are playing it like a hobby, not like professional players. If the ICC can give us one good ground and a good net (it will be helpful). We have good talent in Italy but they don't have enough facilities. We play only on astro-turf wickets so it's not easy to play at the higher levels. To play the World Cup we need more hard work, and to train better physically, mentally and technically. We are not a cricket country so it's not easy for local players."

Nevertheless this T20 World Cup could be a watershed moment that transforms Italy into a cricketing nation that can hold its own. Kalugamage has become one of its flagbearers, delivering an emotional message in Italian after receiving his Player of the Match Award against Nepal.

"I said it was a very historic moment for Italy and if kids are starting to play cricket, you need to work hard and believe in your talent. One day - maybe not today, but tomorrow, or in a month or whenever - you will get a chance to play on the big stage, so never give up."