West Indies continued with their impressive campaign as they remained unbeaten in the group state of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. On Thursday, they scored a 42-run win over Italy at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Bidding to exit the World Cup on a high, a spirited performance from the Italian team saw them restrict West Indies to 165 for 6. But with Matthew Forde spearheading the West Indian attack, the Italian chase failed to take off and eventually folded at 123 in 18 overs. Benjamin Manenti top-scored for the Italians with 26.
For the third time in four matches, West Indies bowled out the opposition, including England, inside 20 overs. Shamar Joseph floored Italy with pace, finishing with 4 for 30. Meanwhile Forde, who had provided the breakthrough with the wicket of Justin Mosca, returned with impressive figures of 3 for 19 in his four overs.
“Pitch was decent, we should’ve got a bit more. Different when you have unfamiliar bowlers. We could’ve put more impetus in the middle overs. Will have to find ways to be more forceful when crunch times come. Proud of Forde, Shamar, they’ve executed well. The confidence and clarity in bowlers gives us clear execution. It’s a matter of doing it over and over. Gotta bring your A game in tournament. We’re 4 in 4, gotta keep momentum going all the way through. Fine margin, we have batting depth, but we need to be smart. Need to be clinical with strokeplay. Need to capitalise on deliveries. In good shape going into the Super Eight,” said West Indies captain Shai Hope.
Sent into bat, Shai Hope held the West Indies innings together with a brisk half-century. The West Indies captain was the only one who used his feet well to counter a disciplined bowling performance and scored 75 off 46 balls, with the help of six fours and four sixes.
Ali Hasan gave Italy the breakthrough, inducing a faint edge off Brandon King. The West Indies kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were unable to pick up the pace once Hope was bowled by Crishan Kalugamage. While the leggie continued his impressive form and was the pick of the bowlers, Benjamin Manenti also contributed with 2 for 37 in his four overs.
“I always try to contribute. Wicket was a good one, felt like I could’ve given the team more impetus at the death. When you face unfamiliar oppositions, you plan but are unsure, facing many bowlers for the first time. They bowled well in patches, tough to score early on. Have to be ruthless early on,” said Hope, who was named the Player of the Match.
“Really happy with our performance with the ball. To limit them on a good wicket with a short side, we were happy. We kept losing wickets in crucial times. Didn’t get partnerships going. Proud of the group. Different stages where boys have stood up. Crush was an example today, with a catch and then a wicket today. Our ability to stay in and fight, especially against teams like England and WI who take momentum nicely. We haven’t played the perfect game despite showing promise in moments. Important for all Associate nations to be funded and well looked after, which is tough. If we keep getting support from ICC, if we get more cricket, we’ll get more competitive. Lack of games have hurt us, the more we play the higher are the chances to close out games like this,” said Italy captain Harry Manenti.
Brief scores: West Indies 165 for six in 20 overs (Shai Hope 75, Roston Chase 24, Sherfane Rutherford 24 not out, Matthew Forde 16 not out; Ben Manenti 2/37, Crishan Kalugamage 2/25) beat Italy 123 in 18 overs (JJ Smuts 24, Ben Manenti 26; Shamar Joseph 4/30, Matthew Forde 3/19, Gudakesh Motie 2/24).
