Jadeja, Shami, Bumrah with the ball and Rahul-Rohit with the bat help India move to third spot in points table with best group NRR
India 89/2 in 6.3 overs (Rahul 50, Rohit 30; Watt 1/20) defeat Scotland 85 all out in 17.4 overs (Munsey 24, Leask 21; Shami 3/15, Jadeja 3/15) by 8 wickets
Team India’s opportunity to strengthen their chances of making it into the semifinals flickered a little brighter post the 37th clash of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 on Friday, November 5 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
After losing two of their most important clashes, against arch-rivals Pakistan and New Zealand, that too by huge margins, the Virat Kohli-led side entered Friday’s game eyeing a big win as they looked to register their second victory in the Super 12 stage. Scotland, on the other hand, have already been removed from the race but looked forward to ending their campaign by bagging a victory in their second last game of the tournament.
Virat Kohli and Co started off the match full of spunk and spirit as the leader finally got the opportunity to choose his move in the tournament by winning the toss and opting to field first.
Bowlers give India a terrific start
Opting to bowl first became an obvious option for the Indian team after winning the toss after a long time. And the outcome was pretty much visible early on in Scotland’s innings. Scotland got off to a positive start after George Munsey hit Jasprit Bumrah for a wristy six towards deep square leg. Playing his 50 th T20I match, Munsey got into the groove with a boundary off Varun Chakravarthy’s first over.
Jasprit Bumrah came in for his 2nd over and inaugurated the Indian celebration with a fuller delivery to rattle Scotland skipper Kyle Coetzer’s stumps who departed for just 1 run.
However, Munsey, trying to make a statement targeted Ravichandran Ashwin and hit him for 12 runs in the 4 th over. Despite losing the skipper, Scotland looked on track owing to Munsey’s intent in the game. But that was soon spoiled by Mohammed Shami who pitched a well-baited delivery which Munsey fell for in trying to get a boundary and got caught by Hardik Pandya at mid-on. Munsey got out on 24 runs, the highest for his side in their innings. Shami finished the over with a maiden and a wicket and pressed Scotland to 27/2 after 6 overs.
Jadeja exhibits his brilliance
Ravindra Jadeja too joined the party in the 7 th over by beating through Richie Berrington’s defense and rattled his stumps for a duck. Jadeja struck twice in that over with another wicket of Matthew Cross by trapping him leg before wicket. Scotland were struggling at 29/4 after 7 overs after losing three quick wickets in a quick span of two overs.
Other batters could not do much except Michael Leask and Calum Macleod stitching a partnership of 29 runs for the 6 th wicket. That too came to an end as Jadeja got his third wicket of the game. He dismissed Leask (21) with the most convincing delivery of the innings which trapped the batter LBW and brought an end to their partnership.
Scotland were now 58/5 after 11.2 overs with half of the team back to the pavilion. India’s bowlers further nailed the Scottish coffin, especially in the 17 th over of Shami, wherein he dismissed MacLeod for 16 runs and Alasdair Evans for a duck. Scotland were 81/9 after 16.3 overs and only added four runs before Bumrah struck the final blow and restricted them to 85 all out in 17.4 overs.
Both Shami and Jadeja finished as leading wicket-takers for India with figures of 3/15 each.
KL Rahul show ensures India get to the target within 7 overs
Chasing a paltry target of 86 runs, India’s openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma got off to one of the most destructive starts in the tournament. The duo spared no Scotland bowlers and ransacked them for boundaries and sixes. Indian scorecard ticked the 50-run mark in no time and further caused catastrophe for Scotland.
Although Scotland got the first breakthrough when Bradley Wheal dismissed Rohit leg before wicket and the latter departed for 30 runs off 16 deliveries. However, the Indian side had done enough damage and only needed 16 runs at that point in time.
KL Rahul reached his 14 th half-century in the format en route victory. He departed just after scoring 50 runs off 19 balls but the Indian team only needed 4 runs which came off Suryakumar Yadav’s sixer as the finishing runs.
India won their second game on the trot in just 6.3 overs and improved the net run- rate to 1.619, putting a strong contention for the semi-final spot.
Player of the match
Ravindra Jadeja became the player of the match for his career-best bowling figures of 3/15 in T20Is. He got two breakthroughs in his first over and further broke the 29-run partnership between MacLeod and Leask.
Stats and Facts
- Jasprit Bumrah is now the leading wicket-taker for India in T20Is with 64 wickets in 53 matches. He surpassed Yuzvendra Chahal who has 63 wickets in the shortest format.
- Ravindra Jadeja recorded his best-bowling figures in T20Is following his performance against Scotland. He finished with 3/15 in four overs and put India on the driver’s seat during Scotland’s innings.
- Scotland’s 85 all-out is the second-lowest team total against India in the T20 World Cup tournament.
- KL Rahul became the second-fastest India batter to score a half-century in T20Is. He took 18 deliveries to reach his 14th T20I half-century. Yuvraj Singh still holds the record with a 12-ball fifty.
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