West Indies secured a convincing 42-run victory over Italy in their final Group C match of the Twenty20 World Cup held in Kolkata. This win allowed the two-time champions to enter the Super Eight stage with an unbeaten record.
Captain Shai Hope was instrumental in the game, scoring 75 runs off 46 balls, which marked his 11th T20 International half-century. His performance set a challenging target of 166 runs for the Italian team, despite a commendable effort from their bowlers.
Italy’s chase began poorly, with Matthew Forde striking early and dismissing Justin Mosca for just 2 runs. Akeal Hosein, under pressure after conceding two sixes, managed to take revenge on Anthony Mosca by dismissing him for 19 runs with a deceiving slower ball.
Though JJ Smuts and Ben Manenti provided some resistance with scores of 24 and 26 respectively, they were unable to turn the tide. Spinner Gudakesh Motie played a key role in dismantling Italy’s batting lineup, finishing with impressive bowling figures of 2 for 24. West Indies pacer Shamar Joseph made significant contributions as well, taking 4 wickets for 30 runs, while Forde added three more wickets to his tally as Italy was bowled out for 123 runs in 18 overs.
Hope’s pivotal innings was crucial after the West Indies lost two quick wickets to the Italian pacers Ali Hasan and Thomas Draca, who finished with figures of 1 for 24 and 1 for 22, respectively. Thanks to the disciplined bowling of spinners Ben Manenti and Crishan Kalugamage, who took 2 wickets each for 37 and 25 runs, the West Indies could only post a total of 165 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. This total ultimately proved too challenging for Italy, who exited the tournament with a single victory against Nepal.