Italy Bowl First vs West Indies in Crucial T20 World Cup Group C Finale

Italy has won the toss and elected to bowl first against the West Indies in their final Group C match of the T20 World Cup 2026. Italian captain Harry Manenti expressed confidence from their previous game and emphasized a strategy of seeking early wickets. West Indies skipper Shai Hope confirmed his team is unchanged and focused on maintaining their process and mindset. The match is being played at Kolkata's Eden Gardens.

Key Points: Italy vs West Indies T20 WC: Toss, Playing XIs, Preview

  • Italy wins toss and chooses to bowl
  • West Indies field an unchanged XI
  • Italy seeks early wickets with swing
  • Match is final Group C fixture at Eden Gardens
2 min read

T20 WC: Italy opt to bowl against unchanged WI in final Group C match

Italy opt to bowl against an unchanged West Indies in the final Group C match of the T20 World Cup 2026 at Eden Gardens. Full squads and captain quotes.

"s.QUOTE: We're going to have a bowl today... give ourselves the best crack to try and swing a few up front. - Harry Manenti"

Kolkata, Feb 19

Italy have won the toss and opted to bowl against West Indies in their final group stage match of the T20 World Cup 2026 here at Eden Gardens on Thursday.

After winning the toss, Italy skipper Harry Manenti said, "We're going to have a bowl today. We get caught - there's a touch in the wicket early, hopefully this morning - and give ourselves the best crack to try and swing a few up front and take some early wickets. We take some confidence out of our last game against England, I think, against a really strong side."

"Obviously, we play West Indies today, who are another really powerful team and have had success in this format for a long time. So we look forward to the challenge and hopefully we can step it up and really compete with them today. It's obviously a focus point ever since Scotland, to try and take wickets in that front half of the game and try and conserve as well, like we did in Nepal. So if we can do that today, hopefully it's a good step towards having a successful game and winning," he added

The West Indies skipper Shai Hope said, "Well, it's not my decision though, but yeah, we have to set it this time around. The process is still in place. It's important for us to make sure we don't change that mindset that we want to put out there. Make sure, you know, final changes, any little activity that we want to do as a team - it's really about playing the cricket we want to play going into this phase. No changes."

Playing XIs

West Indies: Brandon King, Shai Hope (wk/c), Shimron Hetmyer, Roston Chase, Sherfane Rutherford, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Matthew Forde, Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Joseph

Italy: Justin Mosca, Anthony Mosca, Syed Naqvi, JJ Smuts, Harry Manenti (c), Ben Manenti, Grant Stewart, Gian Meade (wk), Crishan Kalugamage, Thomas Draca, Ali Hasan

- IANS

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Reader Comments

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Sarah B
As a cricket fan living in Kolkata, the atmosphere must be electric! It's great for the global game to see associate nations like Italy competing on this stage. Their confidence after playing England is noticeable.
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Aditya G
West Indies unchanged XI is strong on paper, but they need to be careful. Italy seems to have a plan for the powerplay. If they get an early wicket or two, pressure will be on. Let's see if the toss decision works for the underdogs.
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Priyanka N
Honestly, with all respect to Italy, I think they're being a bit too optimistic. Bowling first against this Windies lineup at Eden Gardens? That's a brave call, maybe too brave. Hope I'm wrong and we get a close game!
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Karthik V
Shai Hope's comment about sticking to their process is key. Windies can be unstoppable when they play their natural game. Excited to see Shamar Joseph bowl again! 🏏
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Michael C
The growth of cricket in Europe is fantastic. Seeing Italian names in a World Cup playing XI at a historic ground like Eden Gardens is what the sport needs. Good luck to both teams!

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