Their fate still not in their own hands, India will again go for broke when they resume their battle for survival in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in another must-win contest, against Scotland, in Dubai on Friday (November 5). Coming two days after the thrashing of Afghanistan, Scotland, for all their spunk and spirit in the T20 showpiece, provides their fancied opponents another great platform to win it big and boost their net run-rate while hoping that other results go their way.
Despite the annihilation of Afghanistan, India’s semifinal prospects remain hanging in the balance thanks to the back-to-back drubbing against Pakistan and New Zealand inside eight days of the tournament proper. The situation remains do or die for Virat Kohli’s band of superstars as they head into their fourth match in the Super 12 stage.
Pakistan have already made the semifinals with four straight wins and New Zealand are favoured to join the Men in Green in the last-four stage from Group 2. However, a loss for the Kiwis against either Namibia on Friday or Afghanistan next week, and India will have their tails up.
India will, though, look to focus on what is within their control and not get bogged down by the talks around scenarios and eventualities. While they cannot impact the result of other teams’ group matches, a big win against Scotland is definitely within India’s reach.
After their twin failures against arch-rivals Pakistan and bogey team New Zealand, the Indian batters struck form against an Afghanistan bowling attack considered pretty good by the cricket fraternity. Days after the questionable move to demote him to number three, Rohit Sharma was back to where he belongs, and he showed his class in signs that are ominous for India’s upcoming opponents in Scotland and Namibia.
Finally, featuring in the playing XI after endless chatter around his absence, Ashwin not only picked up two wickets but was also very economical with the ball, giving away only 14 runs in his full quota of four overs.
Needless to say, skipper Kohli was delighted with Ashwin’s returns and lauded his effort after the game. Ashwin, who last played an international game in June in the World Test Championship, finally got a game after nearly four and half months. He was named in the playing XI after mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy developed a left calf issue.
.@ashwinravi99 on family’s role while living in bio-bubble. #TeamIndia #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/nLPuVIqgkK
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 4, 2021
That Chakravarthy is not ready for high pressure international cricket has been exposed and it is unlikely he will feature any further in the tournament.
Seamer Mohammed Shami will have his tails up after a three-wicket haul in the last match and so will be Jasprit Bumrah. Unless there is an injury or two, India are unlikely to tinker with the combination that clicked so well in their last outing.
As far as Scotland are concerned, wicketkeeper Matthew Cross was caught on the stump-mic during their match against New Zealand, reminding his fellow teammate and bowler Chris Greaves that the whole of India is backing him.
The Kiwis beat them by 16 runs but a shock win for Scotland would have made India’s task lot easier. At the Dubai International Stadium on Friday, it will be a different ball game, though.
Teams (from):
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravichandran Ashwin
Scotland: Kyle Coetzer (c), Richie Berrington, Dylan Budge, Matthew Cross, Josh Davey, Alasdair Evans, Chris Greaves, Michael Leask, Calum MacLeod, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Hamza Tahir, Craig Wallace, Mark Watt, Bradley Wheal.
When and what time will the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 match between India vs Scotland start?
The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 match between India vs Scotland begins on November 5 at 7:30 PM IST.
Where will the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 match between India vs Scotland take place?
The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 match between India vs Scotland will be held in Dubai.
Which channel will telecast the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 match between India vs Scotland in India?
The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 match between India vs Scotland will be available on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 2, Star Sports 2 HD, and Star Sports Hindi
How to watch the live streaming of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 match between India vs Scotland in India?
The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 match between India vs Scotland will stream live on the Disney+Hotsar app and website.
