New Zealand beat Namibia earlier today to sit in second place on six points with India third on four.
DUBAI, November 5
Former T20 World Cup champions India kept alive their slim chances of making the semifinals with an eight-wicket rout of Scotland in their Super 12 Group II match here today.
Virat Kohli elected to field after winning his first toss of the tournament and the 2007 title holders bundled out the Scots for 85 in 17.4 overs.
We just looked to play a good brand of cricket. If we play like this, nobody can beat us Ravindra Jadeja, Player of the match
A dominating performance. These little things in T20 cricket (toss, conditions) matter and we’re glad to be back in our mojo Virat Kohli, India Captain
KL Rahul blasted an 18-ball fifty as India chased down the paltry target in 6.3 overs for their second win in four matches.
Unbeaten Pakistan have already qualified from the group with eight points.
New Zealand beat Namibia earlier today to sit in second place on six points with India third on four.
Importantly for Kohli’s team, they now have the best net run-rate in the group should it be required in case of any qualification logjam.
India’s fate in the tournament is beyond their control after thrashings by Pakistan and New Zealand in their first two games.
Kohli’s men snapped their losing streak against Afghanistan but must handsomely win Monday’s final group match against Namibia and hope Afghanistan beat New Zealand to have any hope of reaching the last-four.
Winning the toss
Kohli’s wretched luck at the toss finally snapped on his 33rd birthday and the India captain elected to field.
Jasprit Bumrah drew first blood when he pegged back Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer’s off-stump in the third over. George Munsey (24) hit Ravichandran Ashwin for three consecutive boundaries, including back-to-back reverse sweeps, but Mohammed Shami cut short his stay. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja began with a two-wicket over, removing Richie Berrington and Matthew Cross, to hollow out the top order.
In Shami’s third over, three wickets fell in three balls, including a run out, as Scotland collapsed in a heap.
Rahul (50) hit three boundaries in Brad Wheal’s first over to signal India’s intention to quickly wrap up the victory and boost their net run-rate. At the other end, Rohit Sharma was equally aggressive hammering 30 off 15 balls before falling lbw to Wheal. Rahul smashed three sixes in his blistering fifty before holing out in the deep and Suryakumar Yadav sealed their easy victory with a six.
Scoreboard
Scotland
G Munsey c Pandya b Shami 24
K Coetzer b Bumrah 1
M Cross lbw b Jadeja 2
R Berrington b Jadeja 0
C MacLeod b Shami 16
M Leask lbw b Jadeja 21
C Greaves c Pandya b Ashwin 1
M Watt b Bumrah 14
S Sharif run out 0
A Evans b Shami 0
B Wheal not out 2
Extras: (lb 1, w 3) 4
Total: (all out, 17.4 overs) 85
FOW: 1-13, 2-27, 3-28, 4-29, 5-58, 6-63, 7-81, 8-81, 9-81
Bowling O M R W
Jasprit Bumrah 3.4 1 10 2
Varun Chakravarthy 3 0 15 0
Ravichandran Ashwin 4 0 29 1
Mohammed Shami 3 1 15 3
Ravindra Jadeja 4 0 15 3
India
KL Rahul c MacLeod b Watt 50
R Sharma lbw b Wheal 30
Virat Kohli not out 2
S Yadav not out 6
Extras: (w 1) 1
Total: (2 wickets, 6.3 overs) 89
FOW: 1-70, 2-82
Bowling O M R W
Mark Watt 2 0 20 1
Brad Wheal 2 0 32 1
Alasdair Evans 1 0 16 0
Safyaan Sharif 1 0 14 0
Chris Greaves 0.3 0 7 0
Player of the Match: Ravindra Jadeja
New Zealand win
SHARJAH: New Zealand batsmen Glenn Phillips and Jimmy Neesham launched a late assault on Namibia that secured an important 52-run win and boosted their hopes of reaching the semifinals.
The middle-order duo blasted 67 runs in the last four overs to take New Zealand to 163/4 after the team appeared to be in a touch of trouble at 96/4 at the end of the 16th over on a slow wicket. Phillips made an unbeaten 39 off 21 balls, while Neesham finished with 35 from 23 balls. Namibia managed only 111/7 from 20 overs as Tim Southee (2/15) and Trent Boult (2/20) ensured there would be no upset. — Reuters