ENG vs ITA

That ends another thrilling game in this World Cup and now with England securing their Super-8s spot, it makes it four out of the 8 spots grabbed. England and West Indies from this Group C, India from Group A and South Africa from Group D (Group of Death, as they called it). What about Group B? Well, things have gotten spicy and a lot rests on the all-impotant clash of Sri Lanka vs Australia in which Sri Lanka have put Australia into bat at Pallekele. Make sure you switch tabs to follow that game, from here this is Sourabh Agrawal signing off on behalf of my co-commentators Pradeep and Datrim Ray. Cheers!

Harry Brook (England captain): We haven't played our best cricket. At the end of the day, we have made it through and we are heading to Sri Lanka and we are happy about that.

(Batters not converting starts) Has been a little bit of trend in this competition, we have not been able to string along the scores as a batting unit but that is a part of T20 cricket. One day you can smack a hundred and the next day you can get out first ball, got to keep on being brave.

(On their bowling and fielding) Thought we fielded excellently, bowled nicely as well. Never had any doubts at the end with Sam and Jamie in the last two overs. He (Curran) has been awesome throughout this comp so far. We managed to scrape through. There have been some good contributions from him and Jacks which is good to see.

(Giving Archer three overs on the trot at the start) He was on the heater and when Jof is on the heater, you want to try and get as much out of him as possible and try and put a real big dent on the opposition as he did with his first couple of overs.

(Going to Sri Lanks for the Super 8s) We've played there before, had a couple of weeks there. We know what the conditions are like. Got to go back and doing what we were doing there which is adapting. Make sure we are brave with the bat specially, got only 20 overs to bat and got to get as many runs as we can. That has been our little downfall in this group stage is that we have not quite been brave enough and taken our options.

Harry Manenti [Italy captain]: "(On assessing England’s total of 202) We knew England would come hard — that’s the way they play. The plan was to strike early and keep taking wickets so we could control the middle and back end. We managed to do that to an extent, but when someone like Will Jacks takes it deep, especially on a good wicket with short boundaries, the game can shift quickly. In the end, 200 wasn’t far above par, but we probably allowed 15–20 extra runs that made the difference. (On the chase and key partnerships) We lost early wickets, but the way Mosco and Ben counterattacked was outstanding. Ben has worked incredibly hard on his batting, and tonight he showed how destructive he can be. Grant Stewart’s contribution at the back end also highlighted the belief in the group — once we built partnerships and applied pressure, England felt it. That’s something we take pride in. (On competing as an associate nation) Across this tournament, associate teams have shown they can push the bigger sides, and that’s great for the game. We’ve done that as well — today against England and earlier against Nepal. For a team ranked 27th to put pressure on one of the top-ranked sides in the world gives us belief. What’s missing is experience in those key moments. The more we play against elite opposition, the better we’ll handle those finishing stages. (On emotion and looking ahead) When Ben got out, there was disappointment, but mostly pride. He and others showed the world what they’re capable of. We’ve got one more game against West Indies, and we approach it with nothing to lose. For many of our players, these are the biggest games of their careers. Our aim remains the same — compete hard, push strong teams to the limit, and continue proving that Italy belongs on this stage.

Will Jacks is the Player of the Match! Here's what he has to say: "(On his half-century and batting intent) We spoke about maintaining intent after a few games where we were a bit static. It was a very good surface and a fast-scoring ground, so batting first you’re never quite sure what’s enough. The plan was to stay proactive throughout, and that mindset helped me build a more substantial innings while others chipped in around me. (On reaching his first T20I fifty and settling into his role) It feels like it’s been a long time coming. There have been a few role changes, so it’s taken time to find rhythm. I’m starting to feel more comfortable batting down the order and understanding what the team needs from me in that position. (On scoring areas and bowling contribution) The key with the bat was to look straight — the boundary down the ground was shorter and that was the safest scoring option, especially with bowlers targeting the blockhole late on. With the ball, Ben Manenti was striking it beautifully, so after missing my fuller lengths, I adjusted wider and managed to get the breakthrough. That wicket was important because he was capable of taking the game away. (On qualifying for the Super 8) Qualification is the biggest positive. It doesn’t matter how you get there, but we know we need to improve. We’re heading into different conditions and new opposition, so there’s work to do. The focus now is on raising our standards as we move deeper into the tournament.

6:23 PM local time and IST: MATCH SUMMARY

England (202/7 in 20 overs) beat Italy (178 all-out in 20 overs) by 24 runs

Will Jacks 53*(22) | Jamie Overton 3/18(4)
Ben Manenti 60(25) | Crishan Kalugamage 2/41(4)

Yes it is a win for England, yes it has secured the all-important Super-8 clash for them, yes they were the better side on the day but it just feels like this game was more about Italy than England

It has been that kind of a tournament, isn't it? 203 was a record ask for Italy who were caught at the end of a superb Will Jacks' maiden T20I fifty which propelled England over 200 when for a large part it looked like they would fall much short

In the run chase, Archer cracked open the Italy top order right at the very beginning with two wickets in the first over sending both Anthony Mosca and JJ Smuts packing for ducks. Italy did not throw in the towel though, they came harder at England with Justin Mosca starting the counterpunch with some lovely boundaries to Archer

Harry Manenti could not contribute much but then his brother Ben Manenti comined with Justin Mosca to give England a run for their money. Ben hit the ball cleaner than anyone in the contest and he along with Mosca, who dealt in fours, took Italy to unchartered territories

A huge 21 runs off the first 5 balls of the 12th over of the chase bowled by Jacks gave Italy belief but then it changed in a split second as Jacks made the big difference with the ball as well removing Ben Manenti on 60 on the next ball.

The 98-run partnership ended and then 135/4 quickly became 138/7 as England came back through wickets. It was still not over though, a huge 21-run 18th over against Adil Rashid meant that Italy were right back in it again as Stewart now got into the act. But, as Curran did against Nepal, he bowled a superb over in the death removing Stewart while just giving away 5 off it when Italy needed 30 off 12. Overton then put the finishing touches against number 9, 10 and 11 to close it off with couple of wickets to bowl Italy out off the final ball

19.6 Jamie Overton to Ali Hasan, OUT! CLEANED HIM UP! THAT'S THAT! England hold their nerve, they progress through to Super 8s with West Indies in Group C! Italy should be mighty proud of their effort they put in today, gave a proper scare to England. Yorker length, right up in the blockhole. Hasan backs away, exposes all his stumps and misses, stumps gets rattled.

19.3 Jamie Overton to Ali Hasan, change of pace, full on the stumps. Hasan backing away, keeps it out. Italy are going through the motion now.

19.2 Jamie Overton to Jaspreet Singh, OUT! GOES STRAIGHT UP IN THE AIR AND TAKEN! Another one bites the dust, Italy are nine down. Length delivery on the stumps, Jaspreet swings and hits it straight up. Jacks takes a good catch at covers.

19.1 Jamie Overton to Jaspreet Singh, banged in short outside the off-stump, Jaspreet reaches and slashes at it, and misses, through to the keeper.

25 needed off the final over against England at the Eden Gardens in the T20 WC, heard something similar to this ever before? Jamie Overton [3.0-0-18-1] to bowl it

Curran did the job against Nepal in the 20th over when England looked down and out, he has once again stood up and bowled a remarkable 19th one that has all but sealed the deal for England