West Indies remain unbeaten, finish top of group after beating Italy

KOLKATA: West Indies quite expectedly finished their Group C engagements with an all-win record following a 42run victory over Italy at the Eden Gardens here on Thursday, but they will surely have a close look at the way they went about it. On a wicket that did not allow you to go hammer-and-tongs from the very first ball, a few deliveries had to be played with caution.

However, Shai Hope (75; 46b, 6x4, 4x6) apart, very few of the West Indies batters were judicious in their shot selection. Perhaps the complacency of playing a dead rubber had crept in as they managed a below-par 165/6. Their bowlers, however, did well to stop Italy at 123 in 18 overs, with pacer Matthew Forde’s 3 for 19 being best of the lot.



One thing that strikes you about Italy is their never-say-die attitude. It doesn’t matter who their opponents are, they will come at them hard. The West Indies were perhaps caught off-guard by Italy’s stubbornness on the field.

Whether it was diving full stretch to save a boundary or sprinting backwards to attempt an impossible catch, the Italians were throwing themselves at everything.

The minnows from Europe were going all out to tick that final box in their dream run in this mega international event: a big team’s scalp. A bunch of expatriates who had made Italy their home, were out to make their countrymates sit up and take notice.

Besides Hopes’ innings, the West Indies did not have much to show in batting with the Italians making their job difficult with some tight bowling and brilliant fielding.

Despite it being a batting wicket, a few deliveries were stopping a little, forcing the batters into two minds. The lofted drives were not always from the middle of the bat and runs were not coming easily.

Hope was opening up on occasions but might have been bogged down by the lack of support at the other end.
SCORES: West Indies 165/6 (Hope 75; Kalugamage 2-25, B Manenti 2-37) bt Italy 123 in 18 overs (B Manenti 26, Smuts 24; Forde 3-19, Joseph 4-30) by 43 runs.


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