Kolkata, Feb 19 (IANS) Captain Harry Manenti admitted his side struggled to put together a complete performance and lost wickets at crucial stages despite an encouraging show with the ball as Italy suffered a 42-run defeat against the West Indies in their last group match of the T20 World Cup 2026 here at Eden Gardens on Thursday.
West Indies fast bowler Shamar Joseph picked four wickets as Italy were all out for just 123 runs in 18 overs while chasing a 166-run target.
Speaking on the defeat, skipper Manenti said, “I’m really happy with our first few performances with the ball. We all know the power they possess, and to let them on a good wicket with a short side to 166, we’re really happy. That definitely set us back today and was similar to the England game. We just kept losing wickets in crucial times there today. Didn’t quite get a partnership going that was enough to win a game for you today.”
Manenti, however, took pride in the group’s overall effort during the tournament. “I’m really proud of the whole group. There have been different stages in the tournament where the boys have been able to stand up and show their skill sets,” he said.
The skipper felt the team showed resilience at different stages of their first T20 World Cup campaign despite falling short of delivering a complete game.
“I think our ability to stay in a fight for a long period of time, especially when good cricketers and good players like England and the West Indies are able to take a few boundaries down and build some real momentum, and for us to bring it back at certain stages in those last two games has been exciting for us,” he said.
Manenti, however, accepted that consistency across all phases remains a challenge for the team. “We probably haven’t nailed a full game of cricket yet, which, you know, yes, we were good in the ball, we could have been slightly better. We were good against England, we could have been a lot better and again today, we showed some signs, especially with the ball. We just didn’t nail it in the bat today, unfortunately,” he noted.
He also underlined the importance of sustained support for Associate nations from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and demanded more playing opportunities for the teams to grow further.
“I think it’s important for all associate nations to be, you know, funded and well looked after from the top. It’s not always easy, and there are obviously portions of money that need to go everywhere.
“If we can continue to get cricket support from ICC and the other bigger nations, and then those sort of middle-tier nations to have a sort of and get playing more cricket, when we come to these events, hopefully we’ll be even more competitive… I think the more cricket we play together, the more chance we have of completing these games today and knocking over a big nation like West Indies or England,” he concluded.
Italy finished their campaign with only one win in four matches. They remained in fourth position in the Group C points table.
–IANS
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