T20 WC 2026: Italy wins toss, opts to bowl vs unbeaten West Indies

In their final T20 World Cup 2026 group match, Italy captain Harry Manenti won the toss and opted to bowl against West Indies. The already-qualified West Indies seek a 4-0 record, while Italy, out of the Super 8 race, plays for pride.

Italy captain Harry Manenti won the toss and chose to bowl first against West Indies in both teams' last group-stage match of the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.

The West Indies, along with England, have already qualified for the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup 2026 after securing three wins in as many matches so far in the tournament. The Shai Hope-led team will look to win their match against Italy and enter the Super 8s with a perfect record. Italy, on the other hand, playing in their first-ever men's T20 World Cup, have won just one of their three matches so far and are already out of the Super 8s race. However, they will look to play with freedom and leave the subcontinent on a positive note.

Playing XIs

Italt vs West Indies T20 WC 2026 match playing 11s: Italy playing 11: Justin Mosca, Anthony Mosca, Syed Naqvi, JJ Smuts, Harry Manenti(c), Ben Manenti, Grant Stewart, Gian Meade(w), Crishan Kalugamage, Thomas Draca, Ali Hasan West Indies playing 11: Brandon King, Shai Hope(w/c), Shimron Hetmyer, Roston Chase, Sherfane Rutherford, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Matthew Forde, Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Joseph.

'We look forward to the challenge': Harry Manenti

Harry Manenti, after winning the toss, announced that his team would bowl first to exploit early conditions and aim for early wickets. He expressed confidence from their previous match against England and acknowledged the challenge of playing a strong West Indies side.

"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," Manenti said at the toss. (ANI)

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