West Indies are pushing to complete the group stage with a perfect record as they face Italy in their final group encounter at Eden Gardens on Thursday.
Italy won the toss and elected to field first, hoping to put early pressure on the Caribbean side. West Indies reached 48/2 at the end of the powerplay, with captain Shai Hope anchoring the innings and contributing the bulk of the runs.
Italy struck early when Ali Hasan provided the breakthrough, inducing a faint edge from Brandon King, giving the fielding side some momentum inside the opening six overs.
Despite the wickets, West Indies maintained a steady scoring rate, relying on Hope’s composure and shot selection to keep the innings on track. With plenty of depth in their batting lineup, West Indies will look to accelerate in the middle and death overs.
Italy, meanwhile, will aim to tighten their bowling and restrict the total, knowing a disciplined effort is needed against a powerful West Indies batting order.
🧑🤝🧑 Playing XIs
West Indies:
Brandon King, Shai Hope (c & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Roston Chase, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Matthew Forde, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Joseph
Italy:
Justin Mosca, Anthony Mosca, Syed Naqvi, JJ Smuts, Harry Manenti (c), Benjamin Manenti, Grant Stewart, Gian-Piero Meade (wk), Crishan Kalugamage, Thomas Draca, Ali Hasan
