New Delhi: Virat Kohli-led team India starred both with the bat and bowl to crush minnows Scotland by eight wickets to continue their winning momentum. Team India tonight attained its biggest victory in T20 Internationals in the 37th match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
India chased down the target of 86 runs with 81 balls remaining. This is team India's biggest win in terms of balls remaining in T20 International. Earlier in 2016, India had defeated Bangladesh in Mirpur with 59 balls to spare. Also, this is the third biggest win for any team in the history of the World Cup in terms of balls remaining.
After a thumping win over Scotland, India's net run-rate is now +1.619, which is the best among the six teams in Group 2. The net run rate of the first-ranked Pakistan is also +1.065. India had to chase down the target in 7.1 overs to leave behind Afghanistan's net run rate +1.481. Openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma scored 70 runs in the first five overs to keep India alive in the race to semi-finals.
India's hopes of reaching the semi-finals, however, depend on outcome of Afghanistan vs New Zealand T20 World Cup match on Sunday. If Afghanistan defeats New Zealand, India will need to beat Namibia by a big margin. However, a win for New Zealand will indirectly knock out Virat Kohli & Co. out of the tournament.
Talking about the match, birthday boy Virat Kohli, after losing three consecutive tosses, won his first-ever toss in T20 World Cup 2021 and invited Scotland to bat first. Mohammed Shami( 3/15) and Ravindra Jadeja (3/15) rocked the Scottish batters with some sensational bowling as the duo bagged three wickets each to restrict Scotland to 85/10.
After this, a fiery 70-run opening partnership between Rohit Sharma (16-ball 30) and KL Rahul (19-ball 50) powered India to a resounding 8-wicket win over Scotland