In the most dominating display of the 2021 T20 World Cup, India bulldozed Scotland by eight wickets with 81 balls remaining to win their second match of the tournament.
The match witnessed India winning with the most balls to spare in their T20I chronicles.
India needed to chase down 86 in 7.1 overs to get their net run rate above Afghanistan’s. Not that it would have mattered, for both sides would play again. Nevertheless, they got to the mark in 6.3 overs, courtesy a 30-ball 70-run opening stand between Rohit Sharma (30 off 16) and K.L. Rahul (50 off 19).
Rahul slammed the fastest fifty (18 balls) of the ongoing tournament and the fourth-fastest in the T20 World Cup history. Of course, the list is topped by Yuvraj Singh’s 12-ball effort against England in 2007.
India scored 82 of their runs in the first six overs, making this their best-ever effort in the Powerplay.
Even the usually parsimonious Mark Watt was not spared of the carnage. The left-arm spinner had gone under six an over in all the previous six matches leading to this. Even he was plundered for 20 from his two overs.
Safyaan Sharif has averaged 6.8 and went for 3.4 runs an over in the Powerplay in this tournament before this match. He, too, went for 14 in his solitary over in this game.
The win takes India to the third place in the group with the best NRR in the group of +1.62. If, and only if, Afghanistan win against New Zealand and India beat Namibia, India stand with an excellent chance for a semi-final qualification.
It all began with a Haley’s comet-moment for India. Perhaps a slight exaggeration. Maybe not. Virat Kohli’s 33rd birthday brought him some luck at the toss. A relieved Kohli wished the match against Pakistan was played on his birthday.
Kohli had no hesitation in bowling first at a venue where they lost both their matches in the tournament after batting first.
Playing two frontline pacers and three specialist spinners meant India dropped Shardul Thakur for Varun Chakravarthy.
The Indian bowlers were on a mission from the start. The pacers darted in yorkers, and the spinners were accurate. The only Scottish resistance came from George Munsey (24 off 19) at the top and Michael Leask (21 off 12) in the middle order.
Munsey flicked Jasprit Bumrah for a huge six in the first over and smacked R. Ashwin for a hat-trick of fours (including consecutive reverse sweeps) but found no support. He fell to Mohammed Shami, not too long after Bumrah had dismissed Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer.
The two fast bowlers bowled a wicket-maiden each inside the Powerplay to have the Scots reeling at 27/2 after six overs.
Ravindra Jadeja ran through the middle-order before Shami dismantled the tail. Shami bettered his bowling figures from the Afghanistan match to register his new best T20I figures of 3-1-15-3.
The 17th over from Shami saw a ‘team hat-trick’ off the first three balls – two bowled dismissals and a run out in between. Bumrah picked the final wicket in the 18th over to become India’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is. He went past Yuzvendra Chahal’s mark of 63 wickets.
Most wickets by Indian bowlers in T20Is
- Bumrah: M 54 | W 64 | Ave 19.8 | Econ 6.5
- Chahal: M 49 | W 63 | Ave 25.3 | Econ 8.3
- Ashwin: M 48 | W 55 | Ave 22.5 | Econ 6.9
India play Namibia next on Monday. Whether it will be their last match of the tournament will depend on the result Sunday’s match between Afghanistan and New Zealand. And, of course, that has to be followed with an Indian win over Namibia.
Brief scores: Scotland 85 in 17.4 overs (George Munsey 24; Mohammed Shami 3-15, Ravindra Jadeja 3-15) lost to India 89/2 in 6.3 overs (K.L. Rahul 50; Mark Watt 1-20) by 8 wickets with 39 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Ravindra Jadeja