🏏ICC Men's T20 WC 2026: Group C, M 29: ENG vs ITA at Kolkata 🏏

🏏ICC Men's T20 WC 2026: Group C, M 29: ENG vs ITA at Kolkata 🏏

England and Italy face off in Group C with their campaigns at different stages but both are still evolving. England have moved up to second in the table after a much-needed win over Scotland, while Italy arrive encouraged by their breakthrough victory against Nepal.

As the group begins to tighten, this contest offers England a chance to strengthen their position and Italy another shot at testing themselves against an established opposition.

England's tournament has been anything but smooth. They were pushed hard by Nepal and then fell short against the West Indies before recovering with a composed chase against Scotland.

The win offered signs of improvement, particularly in how they managed a moderate target after early setbacks, but there remain areas to tighten, especially with the bat at the top of the order.

With qualification equations starting to take shape, England will aim for a more complete performance rather than another stop-start outing.

Italy, meanwhile, have shown encouraging signs for a side still finding its feet at this level. After a heavy defeat in their opener, they responded impressively by outplaying Nepal for their first World Cup win, underlining both discipline with the ball and confidence at the top of the order. The challenge now is translating that belief against a much stronger side. With momentum and freedom on their side, Italy will hope to spring another surprise and draw inspiration from the way European sides have disrupted bigger teams in past tournaments.

When: Monday, February 16 at 3:00 PM Local Time

Where: Match 29, Eden Gardens, Kolkata

What to expect: The two 3 PM games at this venue so far have produced contrasting results, with West Indies defending 182 against Scotland and England successfully chasing 152 against the same opposition. Scotland's commanding 207, meanwhile, came in an 11 AM start during their comfortable win over Italy. Going by the trend, anything above 180 could prove a challenging target for the side batting second.

What they said:

"Unfortunately they haven't quite fired yet, but I don't think that's a bad thing, I think there's a long way to go in this tournament and if they get firing at the right time then we'll be in a really good place. We'd rather not start amazing and finish amazing than start amazing and finish bad" - Harry Brook, England captain, on the openers Phil Salt and Jos Buttler.

"A win against Nepal doesn't change anything that we believe. We came into this game knowing that we can win, and we did that. It's great for our confidence, but it doesn't change where we're at. Playing every game we get is obviously an opportunity to show the world what we've got, but also spend time with each other. And every time I get to play with those 10 boys, those 14 boys around me, is an opportunity I don't take lightly and I look forward to playing the next one in a few days' time against England" - Harry Manenti, after the win against Nepal.

Team News:

England: Harry Brook's side have played the same eleven for the last two games, with Jamie Overton getting the nod over Luke Wood. They are likely to stick to the same combination.

Probable XI: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (c), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid

Italy: A few days back, skipper Wayne Madsen, who had dislocated his shoulder during the game against Scotland, said he was optimistic of taking further part in this World Cup. Speaking to BBC Radio Derby, he said he was "fairly positive" that "it's just a case of managing it now over the next 48-72 hours and it's already improved." Should he be fit, Marcus Campopiano could make way.

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

Jacob Bethell has scored important runs for England in all three matches. The southpaw has aggregated 120 runs at an average of 40 and a strike rate of 139.54. He will enjoy batting on the Eden Gardens surface, where the bounce can be trusted, and the ball doesn't really hold on to the pitch, unlike some other venues in the tournament.

Jofra Archer (Photo by Matt Roberts-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

Jofra Archer was too hot to handle for the top-order batters of Scotland. He will be more than a handful for the Italian batters, who are not used to facing pacers who consistently bowl at around 145 kph. Archer will look to provide wickets with the new ball.

A win for England will confirm their passage to the Super 8 stage, joining West Indies as the two qualifiers from Group C. An Azzurri victory, however, would keep them firmly in the race and throw the group dynamics wide open heading into the final round of matches. Hopefully, Italy can be the start of our rise - Those were Harry Brook's words after the victory over Scotland, as he admitted England haven't quite put together a complete performance yet and have been a touch niggly. That honesty rang true, given how nervy they looked at the start of the chase in that game. After a setback against the West Indies, they bounced back, and that win also snapped their hoodoo against European opposition in T20 World Cups. Phil Salt and Jos Buttler are still searching for a defining contribution, but there were positives. Tom Banton stepped up and guided the side home with composure, while Jofra Archer, after a couple of tough outings, rediscovered his rhythm, with his pace and sharpness back on display. England will look to build on those gains and seal qualification.

Italy riding the underdog wave - The tournament debutants will be riding a wave of confidence after securing their first-ever World Cup win. Nepal came in as favourites, backed by passionate support, but Italy silenced them with a convincing all-round display. That victory was as close to a spotless performance as you could get. To deliver it after losing their skipper Wayne Madsen to a shoulder dislocation in the opening game made the achievement even more special. The Azzurri will now hope their captain is fit enough to return, which would provide a significant boost in both leadership and batting strength. Freedom vs Expectation - Italy carry a nothing-to-lose attitude into this contest, and that freedom can be dangerous. The pressure squarely rests on England, who are expected to deliver. History shows that such freedom often brings the best out of underdogs. Form (Last 5 completed T20Is, most recent first) - England - WLWWW | Italy - WLWLL. Conditions in Kolkata - This will be the third game with a 3 pm start at Eden Gardens in this tournament.

In the previous fixture between England and Scotland, the ball did a bit more, both in the air and off the seam, at the start of England's chase compared to the beginning of Scotland's innings. Whether that had anything to do with the floodlights starting to take effect remains up for debate, but it was certainly noticeable. First cricketing chapter - This will be the first meeting between these two sides in international cricket. While they share a long-standing rivalry in other sports, let's hope this marks the beginning of a compelling new chapter on the cricket field.