India developed a dominant performance to destroy Scotland by eight wickets in the Super 12 stage of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. With this win, India has kept its semis chances alive, besides boosting its net run rate.
Former champion Team India was on a roll. On Friday, it decimated minnow Scotland by eight wickets in Group 2's Super 12 clash of the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup at the Dubai International Stadium. The win came quickly, as it has helped India keep its semis chances alive and boost its net run rate.
FULL SCORECARD: ICC T20 World Cup 2021 - India vs Scotland (Super 12)
Indian skipper and birthday boy Virat Kohli finally won the first toss of the tournament, as he opted to chase. He made a change by bringing in spinner Varun Chakravarthy for pacer Shardul Thakur, while Scottish captain Kyle Coetzer moved in with the same XI. Scotland was off to a shaky start, losing openers George Munsey (24) and Coetzer (1) within the sixth over of the Powerplay, with just 27 runs on the board.
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Scotland lost Richie Berrington (0) in a couple of runs and Matthew Cross (2) by the seventh over. A 24-run partnership ensued between Calum Macleod (16) and Michael Leask (21) before the latter was trapped leg-before by spinner Ravindra Jadeja in the 12th, at 58, followed by Chris Greaves (1) to off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the next over, five runs later.
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An 18-run stand occurred between Macleod and Mark Watt (14), while the former was cleaned up by seamer Mohammed Shami in the 17th, at 81, while eventually, the rest of the batters were dismissed for single figures, as Scotland was shot out for a trivial total of 85. The Indians put six bowlers into the attack, with Shami and Jadeja claiming three each, while pacer Jasprit Bumrah nailed it with his economy.
In reply, the Indians were off to a flier, with openers KL Rahul (50) and Rohit Sharma (30) contributing to a 70-run partnership, while the latter scored his 13th T20I half-century in just 18 deliveries. In the fifth over, Rohit was the first to fall to spinner Mark Watt, while the next over saw Rahul fall to pacer Bradley Wheal, 12 runs later.
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Nevertheless, it was too late and too little for the Scottish, as Suryakumar Yadav (6*) hit the winning six to seal an eight-wicket win, with 81 balls to spare. As a result, India's net run rate is now the best in the group, reading +1.481. The Scots put five bowlers into the attack, with Watt and Wheal claiming one each, while the former was the most economical from his side.
Brief scores: Scotland 85 in 17.4 overs (Munsey- 24; Shami- 3/15, Jadeja- 3/15) lost to India 89/2 in 6.3 overs (Rahul- 50, Rohit- 30; Watt- 1/20) by eight wickets.