Hope leads charge as West Indies overpower Italy to enter Super Eights undefeated

Match Overview

Italy and the West Indies locked horns in the 37th match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday, February 19. Italian captain Harry Manenti won the toss and elected to field first.

Despite a couple of wickets in the powerplay, the West Indies had a decent start scoring 48 runs in the field-restriction period. Captain Shai Hope and Roston Chase formed an important third-wicket partnership which lasted 50 balls for 64 runs before Chase succumbed to Ben Manenti in the 13th over.

Italy struck twice not long after which included Hope's crucial wicket as well. The wicketkeeper-batter was solid at the other end until then and had completed his 11th T20I fifty before being bowled by Crishan Kalugamage. Meanwhile, the West Indies accelerated in the last four overs to score 48 runs and finished at a par-looking total of 165/6.

Italy had a slow start to their chase as they were pegged back by the fall of wickets at regular intervals in the powerplay. The innings hardly got going in the first 10 overs as the team accumulated just 61 runs for the loss of four wickets. Ben Manenti, who started slowly, picked up pace later to threaten the West Indies briefly, but with his departure Italy's chances also vanished. Matthew Forde and Shamar Joseph ran through the line-up as the Caribbean side won by a substantial margin of 42 runs.

Top run-scorer of the match

Top wicket-taker of the match

Player of the Match

Shai Hope

Hope played a captain's knock indeed as the right-hander held one end up for three-fourths of the innings. The wicketkeeper-batter looked his fluent best and was the aggressor in most of the partnerships. The wicket did not encourage free stroke-making and the class of Hope came in handy to help West Indies put up a competitive total.

Turning Point

The third-wicket partnership between Hope and Chase built a foundation for the batters to come next to take the scoring rate up a few notches. After being 31/2 in the fifth over, the West Indies needed a stand which could put them in a position of comfort. The duo achieved exactly that until the time the partnership ended at 95/3 in the 13th over. The stand between the two provided a buffer as despite a couple of wickets later, the West Indies could still carry forward the momentum.

What the captains said

Winning Team Captain, Shai Hope (WI)

"Like I said previously, I thought that the pitch was pretty decent. I thought we should have got a bit more on the board, especially looking at how the other wickets played, especially in the first couple of overs. I also said before, it's a bit different when you've got a few up from there. And in that situation there, I just felt as though we could have put a bit more impetus into the innings, especially with the field. We've got to ensure that if we have to face that situation again, that we're going to play the best to be a bit more forceful. But when crunch time comes, let's ensure that you capitalise on those deliveries."

"(On the bowlers) They're very good. It's just executing really well, not just in this tournament, but even from a few series ago. We're just taking the strides where we need to. I just feel as though the confidence and clarity that we're finding in our bowlers gives us a lot more, I guess, clearer execution. And in this situation here, it's just about doing it over and over, all the way through until we get as far as we can get. I always look at the present, you know, those things where we pass."

Losing Team Captain, Harry Manenti (ITA)

"I'm really happy with our first few performances with the ball. We all know the power they possess and to let them on a good wicket with a short side to 166, we're really happy. That definitely set us back today and similar to England game (On losing wickets in the batting powerplay). We just kept losing wickets in crucial times there today. Didn't quite get a partnership going that was enough to win a game for you today. I'm really proud of the whole group. There's been different stages in the tournament where the boys have been able to stand up and show their skill sets. Krish (Crishan Kalugamage) was another example today with his leg spin, took a nice catch out in the boundary, got his team and then came on and took a wicket next ball. So, you know, great stories like that. I'm proud of us as a captain and there's other boys who have stepped up at really good times and shown the world what they can do."

"I think our ability to stay in a fight for a long period of time, especially when good cricketers and good players like England and 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 have been exciting for us. We probably haven't nailed a full game of cricket yet, which, you know, yes, we were good in the ball, we could have been slightly better."