Kolkata : England overcame a nervy start to score a five-wicket win over Scotland and stay in contention for a Super 8 spot at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The win helped them climb back to No. 2 in a competitive Group C.
Electing to field first, England restricted Scotland to 152 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday.
However, the chase got off to a troubled start as openers Phil Salt and Jos Buttler fell in the first two overs. With swing coming into play, the Scottish pacers Brandon McMullen and Brad Currie used the new ball well.
England got a move on in the fifth over, notching 16 runs to calm some of the early nerves and end powerplay on 43/2. Jacob Bethell and Tom Banton led the rebuild with a 66-run partnership off 45 balls.
After Bethell departed for a well-paced 32, Banton and Sam Curran took charge at the wicket. Curran, who had got a measure of the wicket, scored a quick 28 while Banton held the innings together with a half-century. He scored an unbeaten 63 off 41 balls and struck four fours and three sixes to help England over the finish line.
Earlier in the day, England made early inroads as Jofra Archer struck with two quick wickets. Though Scotland ticked at a good run rate, they lost a wicket too many and closed out powerplay at 42/3.
Scotland clawed their way back with a 71-run partnership between captain Richie Berrington (49) and Tom Bruce (24) for the fourth wicket. However, the two batters departed within the space of four balls, sending their team into a downward spiral. Scotland slipped from 113/4 to 127/8. Oliver Davidson’s cameo helped Scotland cross the 150-mark.
It was the English spinners that engineered the middle order collapse. Liam Dawson (2/34) and Adil Rashid (3/36) were taken for some runs by Berrington and Bruce early on, but returned to haunt the Scots.
While Dawson broke the partnership by packing off Bruce, Rashid trapped Berrington leg before wicket one run short of 50. Archer, who had given England the initial breakthrough, finished with 2/24. After much efforts, Scotland could manage to score 152 in 19.4 overs.
Brief Scorecard –
1st Innings :
SCO : 152 (19.4)
2nd Innings :
ENG : 155-5 (18.2)
Result : England won by 5 wickets.
