West Indies aim to keep up rhythm as Italy look to end on a high

West Indies will look to maintain their unbeaten streak and conclude the group stages with a perfect record as they face tournament debutants Italy on Thursday (February 19) at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Their fates are already sealed. West Indies, as table toppers in Group C, are next headed to Mumbai for the Super 8s stages while Italy will be packing up to return home. However, there's still pride to play for, for the first-timers. Italy's 10-wicket thrashing of Nepal was enough evidence that they aren't just making up the numbers here. But heavy defeats on either side of that historic win meant their maiden World Cup journey would end at the group stages itself.

West Indies, on the other hand, have been near flawless through the first round. They opened their campaign with a 35-run victory over Scotland, and then defended 196 against favourites England at the Wankhede before thrashing Nepal by nine wickets to seal the top spot. With a healthy net run-rate of 1.820, only a heavy upset can dislodge them from the top spot that they currently occupy.

Different players have consistently put their hand up for the team, with three different Player of the Match awards in as many games. The wins have been built on complete all-round performances with nearly all the batting order firing consistently. The bowling department, too, has worked in unison to skittle oppositions.

While Italy may have shown they are not mere pushovers, West Indies will come into the contest as heavy favourites. The sheer explosive capabilities of the two-time champions will likely overwhelm the Italian bowling attack on the run-laden Kolkata deck. An upset will unlikely change anything but Italy's standing in cricketing history.

When: Thursday, February 19, 11 am Local | 5:30 am GMT

Where: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

What to expect: The venue has been a high-scoring one this World Cup with two 200+ scores already in four games. It could be a cloudy start to the morning but no threat of rain.

Team News

West Indies:A 'slight little niggle' kept Romario Shepherd out of the XI for the last game. He should slot back in if fit, with Matthew Forde making way.

Probable XI: Brandon King, Shai Hope(w/c), Shimron Hetmyer, Roston Chase, Sherfane Rutherford, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Romariio Shepherd/Matthew Forde, Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Joseph

Italy: Regular skipper Wayne Madsen has missed the last two games due to an injury in the opening fixture and remains a doubtful starter for their last group game as well.

Probable XI:Justin Mosca, Anthony Mosca, JJ Smuts, Harry Manenti, Ben Manenti, Marcus Campopiano/Wayne Madsen, Grant Stewart, Gian Meade (wk), Jaspreet Singh, Crishan Kalugamage, Ali Hasan

What they said:

"You look at all the games, different individuals put up their hands and put in some good performances. So that's a sign of a very good batting unit where you have different individuals, square runs at different points and times." - West Indies batting coach Floyd Reifer

"I think that's the beauty of coming to these events is that you don't practice to face guys at ball 150 kilometres an hour but when you come to an event like this you just have to cope with it and I think it shows people what they're capable of so yeah I think we're very proud of our performances so far, but we don't want to rest on our laurels and we're very determined to do well in our final game." - Italy head coach John Davison