England secured a tense win over Italy in their T20 World Cup 2026 Group B match, earning a hard-fought spot in the Super 8s.
Published: February 17, 2026 1:13 AM IST
T20 World Cup 2026: England climbed to second place after a convincing win over Italy in their final group-stage match, becoming the third team, after West Indies and India-to qualify for the Super 8s in the T20 World Cup 2026.
Harry Brook-led England secured a nervy win over Italy, they will have to play far better than this to stand a chance of becoming the first team to win the men’s T20 World Cup three times.
Italy put immense pressure on England, but eventually bowled out for 178 in pursuit of 203. They were 1 for 2 after Jofra Archer’s first over, but destructive knock from their Australian-born all-rounders Ben Manenti and Grant Stewart, who smashed a total of 11 sixes together, made England sweat throughout the second innings.
For the second time in four matches, Will Jacks took the charge. Against Nepal, Jacks played an impactful unbeaten knock of 38 off 19 balls, which included three final-over sixes-in a four-run win, while against Italy, he smashed the fastest half-century by an England player at a T20 World Cup, an innings that proved vital in another tight defence.
Check Group C points table after England vs Italy in T20 World Cup 2026 HERE…
| Teams | M | W | L | T | N/R | PTS | NRR |
| West Indies | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +1.820 |
| England | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +0.201 |
| Scotland | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | +0.359 |
| Italy | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.588 |
| Nepal | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1.942 |
Will Jacks opened up about Ben Manenti’s wicket
Will Jacks, who won the Player of the Match award, reflected on his first 50 in T20Is and said, “It feels like that’s been a long time coming. There’s been a few role changes in there and taken a while. So it’s nice to get that one. I feel like I’m settling into my role down the order quite nicely now.”
Jacks also spoke about the key moment when he dismissed Ben Manenti, “Well he played unbelievably well and he was striking the ball better than any of us. Originally I was trying to bowl full and straight and missed slightly and he was good enough to hit that. So I tried to change and go wide and thankfully got that wicket. If he batted for a few more overs, who knew what could have happened.
Will Jacks expressed his confidence as England prepare for the Super 8s, “Yeah, well that’s the most important thing that we’ve qualified. It doesn’t matter how you do that. We know we need to be a lot better. Simple as that. We’re going to Sri Lanka now, different conditions, new opposition. We’ve got a lot of stuff to work on and we’ll try our best.”
(Group C points table updated till England vs Italy T20 World Cup 226 match)
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