Italy gave it their all right until the final ball, but England managed to secure a 24-run win, earning their spot in the T20 World Cup Super Eights from Group C. Facing a challenging target of 203, Italy finished at 178 all-out. Ben Manenti led their charge with an impressive 25-ball 60, smashing 4 fours and 6 sixes, while Justin Mosca contributed a solid 34-ball 43 and Grant Stewart blasted 45 from just 23 deliveries (2 fours, 5 sixes). Before that, Will Jacks came through with a quick-fire 53 not out in the final overs, pushing England to 202/7. His unbeaten knock came off just 22 balls, featuring four sixes and three boundaries. Phil Salt (28), Jacob Bethell (23), Tom Banton (30), and captain Harry Brook also chipped in with useful contributions. England Survived With A Scary Win To Qualify For Super 8 .
TOSS
England won the coin toss and decided to bat first.
PLAYING XI
England (Playing XI):
Philip Salt, Jos Buttler(w), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook(c), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid
Italy (Playing XI):
Justin Mosca, Anthony Mosca, JJ Smuts, Harry Manenti(c), Ben Manenti, Marcus Campopiano, Grant Stewart, Gian Meade(w), Jaspreet Singh, Crishan Kalugamage, Ali Hasan
ENGLAND
England crossed the 200-mark, though their batting wasn’t exactly smooth sailing after choosing to bat first, especially during the middle phase. Phil Salt got things rolling nicely, sending the opening delivery racing to the boundary, but Jos Buttler couldn’t shake off his recent struggles. Similar to his dismissal against Scotland, he mistimed Grant Stewart’s first ball straight to mid-off. Jacob Bethell kept things ticking along before England capitalized on Stewart with a productive 17-run fifth over, reaching 50.
Salt fell to a pull shot to deep square leg in the last PowerPlay over, leaving England at 56/2 after six overs. The spin bowlers then applied pressure before Bethell attempted to guide one behind square, only to send it straight to deep backward square leg. England managed only 32 runs from overs 6 to 10, until Brook decided to attack JJ Smuts with a boundary and a maximum. Smuts got his revenge though, as England’s captain edged a short, wide ball to the keeper. Tom Banton also couldn’t make his start count, pulling a Crishan Kalugamage long-hop straight to deep mid-wicket.
Sitting at 105 for 5, England found themselves in a tight spot, relying on Jacks and Curran to bail them out. The momentum shifted in the 16th over when Jacks attacked Ben Manenti aggressively. Curran then targeted Kalugamage with a pair of sixes before his departure ended a crucial 54-run stand, though by then they’d built enough steam heading into the final overs.
Jacks surely caused great trouble for Italy by hitting boundaries regularly, and moreover Jamie Overton also contributed with his own brief but effective performance. Jacks further scored a 21-ball half-century with a six, which was the fastest by an Englishman in T20 World Cups, and helped England cross 200 runs. This big score itself was almost not enough for the three-time champions to win, as they just managed to get through.
ITALY-
Italy needed 203 runs but we are seeing a very bad start as Jofra Archer took two wickets in the first over only, getting Anthony Mosca out with a bouncer and making JJ Smuts give a catch to slip. Archer and Jamie Overton surely bowled with great speed, and moreover, Overton dismissed Harry Manenti when the batsman tried to ramp a short ball but wicket-keeper Jos Buttler took a jumping catch.
Justin Mosca and Ben Manenti further launched a counter-attack, where Mosca itself hit three boundaries in Archer’s over before Manenti started his aggressive batting. After hitting two fours against Will Jacks, Manenti surely focused only on scoring sixes. Moreover, he completely changed his batting approach to target boundaries worth six runs. Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson’s slower balls actually went straight into the crowd, and Sam Curran definitely got hit for runs in his first over too. Basically, the fifty-plus partnership for the fourth wicket brought the chase back to life, with Manenti giving the same harsh treatment to Jacks and scoring his second half-century of the tournament in just 22 balls.
Further, basically Manenti kept trying for big shots hoping for a historic win, but the same approach got him out after scoring 60 runs in 25 balls. We are seeing the required run rate going up only, and Justin Mosca got out soon while trying to keep the chase going. Basically, Curran took two wickets in the 16th over which looked like the same end for Italy, but Grant Stewart had different plans. Basically, Stewart needed 65 runs in four overs, so he started hitting big shots and scored five sixes in the same next two overs. Rashid was actually asked to bowl the 18th over, and he definitely got hit for 21 runs while the Italian team kept believing they could win.
Basically, Curran destroyed the same hopes in the second-last over. Stewart was dismissed LBW, but UltraEdge showed an inside edge, however he got out soon after for a good 45 runs from 23 balls itself. This further ended his innings despite the initial controversy. Overton took two wickets in the final over without giving runs, which helped England win by 24 runs and further secured their place in the Super Eights itself.
Brief Scores:
England surely secured a 24-run victory over Italy, posting 202/7 in their allotted 20 overs with Will Jacks remaining unbeaten on 53 runs. Moreover, Italy’s batting lineup collapsed at 178 all out despite Ben Manenti’s impressive 60-run contribution, as Jamie Overton and Sam Curran claimed three wickets each.
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