Italy did not have the fairy-tale finish they sought in their debut World Cup, but the West Indies clinched the ideal result they wanted going into the Super Eight stage of the ongoing T20 World Cup.

That’s the summary of the last group stage match at Eden Gardens, which saw the two teams gunning for different targets on Thursday.

The West Indies were not spotless in their performance on the day — their batters struggled at times against the unheralded Italian attack — but the Caribbean bowlers stepped up to make up for that. In reply to the West Indies’ 165/6, the Italians were bowled out for 123 in 18 overs.

The 42-run win meant that the Windies go to the Super Eight round with the confidence of being unbeaten in four group stage games. Given the cut-throat nature of the format, every ounce of confidence is worth its weight in gold.

Skipper Shai Hope’s bright innings of 75 off 46 balls bodes well, though the others will need to lift their game for the tougher challenges ahead. On the bowling front, pacer Shamar Joseph was the most successful with 4/30, followed by Matthew Forde 3/19 and Gudakesh Motie 2/24.

“Four and four is a result, you want in the next stage again. So let’s just take it one day at a time,” Hope hoped.

All about clarity

The Windies skipper said that clarity of roles for his players has played a big part in
his team’s impressive showing so far.

“Clarity is the biggest thing, especially in a tournament as big as this,” Hope said.

“When you come into a World Cup, you don’t want to be playing catch-up, especially when you’ve got to basically hit the ground running, especially when you’re playing against some of the better teams in the world.

“It’s not like a bilateral series where you have a couple of losses and win the series 3-2. So clarity was one of the biggest things that we focused on in preparation,” the skipper added.

For a better future

Italy’s stand-in captain Harry Manenti said they are on a strong “trajectory”, but it could “drop off” if they do not get enough regular cricket at the top level.

“It’s not always the big dogs who win those games and who challenge... I think that’s exciting for the World Cup,” Manenti said after the match.

“I think for the Associated Nations, it is hard, and it’s not going to change overnight. It’s a work in progress for a lot
of them.”

Brief scores: West Indies 165/6 in 20 ovs (Shai Hope 75 n.o.; Crishan Kalugamage 2/25) Italy 123 in 18 ovs (Shamar Joseph 4/30, Matthew Forde 3/19). West Indies won by 42 runs.