T20 World Cup 2021: Birthday boy Virat Kohli wins toss; India opts to bowl against Scotland
By Team Newsable | First Published Nov 5, 2021, 7:32 PM ISTIndia faces off against Scotland in the Super 12 stage of the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup. It's a must-win tie for India, as the birthday boy and skipper Virat Kohli has finally won the toss and opted to chase.
Former champion India is on a mission to ensure that it qualifies for the semi-final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. On Friday, it is taking on minnow Scotland in the Group 2 Super 12 stage at the Dubai International Stadium. India desperately needs a win here, which would keep it in contention for the semis, while a defeat would completely dent its chances. On the other hand, Scotland is already out of the race and would look to become India's party spoiler.
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During the toss, Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who is celebrating his 33rd birthday, finally won his first toss of the tournament. He jokingly said that India should have played the first game on his birthday. He opted to bowl first, primarily citing the dew factor, while he also hoped to restrict the Scots to a low total.
He also noted that the intensity would be crucial for the boys. As for the side, he made a change by surprisingly dropping pacer Shardul Thakur and bringing in spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who has recovered from a niggle he had, while he would also be the third spinner for the side.
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Meanwhile, Scottish captain Kyle Coetzer said, "Looks a good deck. Happy to go either way. First of all great occasion for us and Scottish cricket and the associate game. We are playing against some of the best players from the world here and in the last couple of games too. India is another special occasion for us. We have got to go out there, enjoy ourselves and try and express ourselves as much as possible. Same team."
ALSO READ: T20 World Cup 2021 - India aims for big win against Scotland to keep semis hopes going
Playing XI
India: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli(c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy and Jasprit Bumrah.
Scotland: George Munsey, Kyle Coetzer (c), Matthew Cross (wk), Richie Berrington, Calum MacLeod, Michael Leask, Chris Greaves, Mark Watt, Safyaan Sharif, Alasdair Evans and Bradley Wheal.
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