DUBAI – India Friday beat Scotland by eight wickets in a must-win match of Group 2, keeping their hopes alive for semi-final qualification at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 in Sharjah.
India chased down the target of 86 runs in 6.3 overs.
India took four wickets early on after winning the toss and electing to bowl first against Scotland in a match that Virat Kohli’s side must win to keep their qualification hopes alive at World Cup 2021.
Opener George Munsey got Scotland off to a strong start with a gorgeous flicked six off Jasprit Bumrah and three consecutive fours off Ravichandran Ashwin.
But a bamboozling slower-ball from Bumrah got rid of captain Kyle Coetzer before Mohammad Shami had the dangerous Munsey caught by Hardik Pandya.
India’s tournament hopes are hanging by a thread as they suffered two heavy defeats at the start of the Super 12 stage by Pakistan and New Zealand.
The Men in Blue had to require to win all the remaining games of the stage to keep hopes for next round qualification alive.
India accomplished the first of those requirements in their control with an imposing victory against Afghanistan.
Next up for them are Scotland.
The Teams
India XI: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (capt), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, R Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah
Scotland XI: George Munsey, Kyle Coetzer (capt), Calum MacLeod, Richie Berrington, Michael Leask, Matthew Cross (wk), Chris Greaves, Mark Watt, Safyaan Sharif, Alasdair Evans, Brad Wheal