Kolkata, February 19 – Captain Harry Manenti acknowledged that his team struggled to put together a complete performance and lost wickets at crucial stages despite an encouraging performance with the ball, as Italy suffered a 42-run defeat against the West Indies in their last group match of the 2026 T20 World Cup here at Eden Gardens on Thursday.
West Indies fast bowler Shamar Joseph took four wickets as Italy were all out for just 123 runs in 18 overs while chasing a target of 166 runs.
Speaking about the defeat, captain Manenti said, “I’m really happy with our initial performances with the ball. We all know the power they possess, and to allow them to get on a good wicket with a short side to 166, we’re really pleased. That definitely put us behind today, and it was similar to the game against England. We just kept losing wickets at crucial times. We didn’t quite manage to form a partnership that would have been enough to win today.”
However, Manenti took pride in the team’s overall effort during the tournament. “I’m really proud of the whole group. There have been different stages in the tournament where the boys have been able to stand up and showcase their skills,” he said.
The captain felt that the team showed resilience at different stages of their first T20 World Cup campaign, despite falling short of delivering a complete game.
“I think our ability to stay in the fight for a long period of time, especially when good cricketers and players like England and the West Indies are able to take a few boundaries down and build some real momentum, and for us to bring it back at certain stages in those last two games has been exciting,” he said.
Manenti, however, accepted that consistency across all phases remains a challenge for the team. "We probably haven’t nailed a full game of cricket yet, which, you know, yes, we were good with the ball, and we could have been slightly better. We were good against England, and we could have been a lot better. Again, today, we showed some signs, especially with the ball. We just didn't manage to execute it well with the bat today, unfortunately,” he noted.
He also emphasized the importance of sustained support for Associate nations from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and demanded more playing opportunities for the teams to grow further.
“I think it’s important for all Associate nations to be funded and well taken care of from the top. It’s not always easy, and there are obviously portions of money that need to go everywhere.
“If we can continue to get cricket support from ICC and the other bigger nations, and then those sort of middle-tier nations to have more opportunities to play cricket, when we come to these events, hopefully, we’ll be even more competitive… I think the more cricket we play together, the more chance we have of completing these games today and defeating a big nation like West Indies or England,” he concluded.
Italy finished their campaign with only one win in four matches. They remained in fourth position in the Group C points table.
