Kolkata, February 19 – Fast bowler Shamar Joseph took four wickets while Matthew Forde took three as the West Indies bowled out Italy for 123 in 18 overs while defending 165 to register a 42-run win in their last group stage match of the 2026 T20 World Cup, played at Eden Gardens on Thursday, remaining unbeaten and advancing to the Super 8s in dominant fashion.
Earlier, West Indies captain Shai Hope continued his excellent form and played a magnificent innings of 75 runs, taking the team to 165/6 in 20 overs against a well-planned Italian bowling attack.
Chasing a challenging target, Italy had a poor start as their key batter, Justin Mosca (2 off 5 balls), was dismissed in the seventh ball of the innings. His brother, Anthony Mosca, was also dismissed in the next over after scoring 19 runs off 12 balls, which included a four and two sixes.
Italy's struggles continued as Matthew Forde took the second wicket of his spell to send Syed Naqvi back, leaving the score at 37/3 after the powerplay.
After a disastrous start, JJ Smuts and Harry Manenti steadied the ship, but the latter was dismissed for 8, and Italy were at 61/4 at the halfway mark.
Smuts tried to steer the innings with Ben Manenti, but he was caught by spinner Gudakesh Motie in the 12th over for 24 runs.
Manenti and Grant Stewart tried to get the chase back on track with a 25-run partnership off 17 balls, but the West Indies took two wickets in a row. Stewart scored 12 runs off seven balls, while Manenti scored 26 runs off 21 balls and also hit two fours and a six during his innings.
Shamar was the most successful bowler for the West Indies, taking 4 wickets for 30 in four overs, while Forde took three crucial wickets, followed by Motie, who took two wickets, and Akeal Hossain also took one wicket.
Coming in to bat after losing the toss, the two-time champions, the West Indies, suffered an early setback as opener Brendon King was dismissed on the seventh ball of the innings.
Shimron Hetmyer, who was watching his captain Hope hit the ball hard from the other end, could not follow suit as he was dismissed after scoring just one run off four balls. The West Indies were 48/2 at the end of the powerplay.
After two early wickets, the West Indies captain forged a 64-run partnership with Roston Chase, who was dismissed by Thomas Draca in the 13th over. Hope completed his fifty off just 28 balls, and he continued his brilliance at the crease despite losing Chase.
As the West Indies were approaching a big total, Italy made a strong comeback with two consecutive wickets in just three balls.
Rowman Powell was caught by Ben Manenti in the 15th over, while captain Hope was clean bowled by Crishan Kalugamage in the next over. Hope scored 75 runs off just 46 balls and hit four sixes and six boundaries during his magnificent innings.
Sherfane Rutherford scored 24 off 15, while Matthew Forde scored 16 off 8 as the duo provided a good finish with a 28-run partnership that came off just 14 balls.
Brief Scores: West Indies 165/6 in 20 overs (Shai Hope 75, Roston Chase 24, Sherfane Rutherford 24*; Crishan Kalugamage 2-24, Ben Manenti 2-37) beat Italy, who were all out for 123 runs in 18 overs (Ben Manenti 26, JJ Smuts 24; Shamar Joseph 4-30, Matthew Forde 3-25, Gudakesh Motie 2-24) by 42 runs.
