West Indies maintained a perfect record in the group stage as they beat Italy by 42 runs in their final Group C match of the T20 World Cup 2026 in Kolkata on Thursday.
Italy bowlers did well to restrict the two-times champions to 165 for 6 but Shai Hope scored 75 off 46 balls to ensure West Indies’ march into the Super Eight with an unbeaten streak.
Italy’s run-chase started off on a jittery note with Matthew Forde castling Justin Mosca followed by the wicket of Anthony Mosca (19), who perished to Akeal Hosein after hitting him for two sixes.
JJ Smuts (24) and Ben Manenti (26) showed some resilience but both fell to spinner Gudakesh Motie who finished with figures of 2 for 24. Pacer Shamar Joseph registered best figures with ball (4 for 30) while Forde picked three wickets as Italy were bundled out for 123 in 18 overs.
Earlier, put in to bat first, West Indies were shackled by the Italy pacers with Ali Hasan and Thomas Draca picking two wickets.
Then the spinners were brilliant as Ben Manenti (2/37) and Crishan Kalugamage (2/25) tied down the West Indies lower-middle order to restrict them to 165 for 6 in 20 overs. The target appeared tough to achieve as Italy bowed out of the T20 World Cup 2026 with just one win against Nepal.
