ICC Men’s T20 WC 2026 | Match 37: West Indies vs Italy | Preview and Predictions

The West Indies will take on Italy in Match 37 of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at Eden Gardens on February 19, 2026. 

Here, we present our preview and predictions for the game.

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 | Match 37: WI vs ITA | 11:00 IST, February 19, 2026

The West Indies have been the team to beat in Group C, having registered comprehensive wins against Scotland, England, and Nepal en route to this final group-stage fixture against the Italians.

In the batting department, Shimron Hetmyer and Sherfane Rutherford lead the WI run-scoring chart with 133 and 102 runs, respectively, while skipper Shai Hope also got among the runs against Nepal with a well-compiled unbeaten knock of 61 off 44 deliveries. The rest of the batters haven’t had much time in the middle, though, which is something the team will be wary of heading into the Super Eight.

That said, the Windies’ bowlers have done a pretty good job so far, with everyone chipping in with solid contributions. Romario Shepherd took a fifer against Scotland, while Jason Holder was the man of the match against Nepal with his 4/17. The likes of Shamar Joseph and Gudakesh Motie have also been among the wickets, with Matthew Forde and Jayden Seales being back-ups and giving the bowling unit a much better outlook than what was perceived before the tournament started.

As for their opponents, after a disappointing start to the campaign and having suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Scotland, Italy roared back into fine form against Nepal with a dominant ten-wicket victory. However, they fell short against England, which means they can no longer make the Super Eight.

In the batting department, everyone has chipped in in some way. However, Ben Manenti and Justin Mosca are the only two batters who have crossed the 100-run mark so far. The likes of Anthony Mosca, skipper Harry Manenti, and Grant Stewart have also contributed with decent knocks, but the lack of consistent performances has let the team down a few times in their first-ever World Cup campaign.

The bowling department has also done reasonably well, considering this is their first-ever outing at an ICC event. Crishan Kalugamage leads the chart with five wickets, while Ben Manenti, Ali Khan, Grant Stewart, and JJ Smuts all have three wickets each.

In terms of the weather forecast and pitch report, expect conditions to be clear throughout this game. As evident from the four games played here at this venue so far, teams batting first have won three out of the four games, with scores around 180–200 having proved difficult to chase down. With this being another day game, expect the team winning the toss to bat first and put up a decent score.

Looking ahead to this fixture, the West Indies are high on confidence, having won all three group stage fixtures so far and already made the Super Eight, which will allow them to rest a few key personnel. Italy, on the other hand, have given a very good account of themselves and should be proud of what they’ve achieved in their first-ever ICC tournament.

However, considering the strength of both squads, despite WI looking to make some changes ahead of this encounter, we’re backing them to go unbeaten in the group stages.

Fantasy XI: Brandon King, Anthony Mosca, Shai Hope (vc), Shimron Hetmyer (c), Harry Manenti, Jason Holder, Ben Manenti, Matthew Forde, Grant Stewart, Gudakesh Motie, Crishan Kalugamage 

Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata 
Winners Prediction: West Indies