Welcome to the coverage of the T20 World Cup 2021 Super 12 match between India and New Zealand. This was Lalith Kalidas bringing you all the action as it unfolded at the Dubai International Stadium .
A billion eyes will be on the Kiwis and the Afghans on Sunday. India has somehow returned to its best albeit at the hands of the lower-ranked teams, to stay afloat. Kohli's men have also hit the peak to ensure that they reach their possible best on the points table and NRR. All down to Sunday eve to settle this Group or a day later if the Kiwis slip-up!
Virat Kohli: A dominating performance, something that we were striving to do again. Now it will be interesting to see what happens on 7th (November). Don't want to say a lot about today's performance, we know what we can do. Also tells you how important the toss can be at this venue. We wanted to get them under 110-120 max, that was the mindset we went in with. The bowler were excellent, and then KL and Rohit did really well. We spoke about the 8-10 over bracket before the start, didn't want to really go too hard becaue if you lose wickets, then an extra 20 balls could cost. We thought that if they play naturally, runs will come quickly. If you look at our practice games, we haven't been actually batting like this only. Just a couple of aberrations happened, where we just couldn't got those two successive good overs. Teams bowled well too, and created pressure on us. But we were just two overs of good batting. Jadeja bowled really well, also Shami was quite good. My family is here - that is enough celebration for me.
Kyle Coetzer: We were outclassed in every department. The only way we're going to improve is by getting games like this. Boys are still going to take something out of this. Mark has been excellent for us all tournament. He has a great set of skills, he has learnt a lot from other spinners too. That's another important reason for us to be in this tournament. He (Leask) is a fantastic striker of the cricket ball, lovely to watch.
Ravindra Jadeja, Player of the Match: I was enjoying bowling on this track today. The odd ball was turning, I was enjoying very much. The first one was a special one, whenever you get a batsman out with a turning ball, that's always special. We were looking to play good brand of cricket. Everybody knows that we had to win with a big margin for us to up our net run-rate, we were looking to play our best game and give our 100% on the field. Everybody's happy, one more game to go, hopefully we play like this. If we play like this, nobody can beat us. In T20 format, we have to play like this, that is for sure.
India jumps to third place with a massive NRR boost!
IND 89/2 in 6.3 overs: Kohli gets a single first ball down to backward square. SKY on strike. A skiddy bowl outside off and SKY is beaten. Game done and dusted! SKY thumps the ball down the ground for SIX and it's all over in 39 balls!
Greaves the new bowler. India needs 4 runs in 7 balls to beat AFG's NRR!
IND 82/2 in 6 overs: An 18-ball 50 for KL! He paddles Watt over backward square for SIX. Nearly through here. Watt floats and Rahul hits it straight up. OUT! KL holes to long-on!
Kohli walks in at three.
IND 70/1 in 5 overs: Wheal balls short and Rahul pulls him down the ground and finds two runs. FOUR , creamed through cover! SIX more! Rahul pulls the shorter delivery to the deep and the fielder puts in a desperate dive and the ball flies through his hands for a maximum at mid-wicket! Rohit gets back on strike. Wheal to Rohit. OUT! Crashes into his toes as Rohit opens up his stance. That's plumb. And there's something to cheer for the Scotts.
Rohit Sharma lbw b Wheal 30 (16b 5x4 1x6)
Fastest team fifty of the tournament for India in 23 balls!
IND 53/0 in 4 overs: Hitman takes charge! Rohit sets himself deep in the crease and tonks Sharif over mid-wicket for a massive SIX! FOUR more as Rohit takes him over extra cover this time. A short delay as Rohit asks for a change of willow. India crosses FIFTY in 23 balls. This is the Rohit of old, absolutely devouring on the pacer as he slides in a mini-helicopter flick for another FOUR!
Sharif into the attack
IND 39/0 in 3 overs: KL Onslaught! Evans fends wide and Rahul lofts him over cover for FOUR! Goodness me, how about that one! Full and straight from Evans and KL swishes his arms through the arc and sends the ball sailing handsomely over mid-wicket for SIX! Gets a single and Rohit joins the act! Another lofted shot over covers and the ball races for FOUR!
Evans replaces Watt
IND 23/0 in 2 overs: Class from KL! He tonks Wheal's half-tracker over mid-on for a beautiful FOUR. Streaky from Rahul but he finds another FOUR! Wheal slackens his pace and Rahul attempts a pre-meditated flick. The ball clips the bottom-edge and sails over mid-wicket and crawls to the fence. FOUR more! The panache of a typical KL flick all over this one! Picks the length delivery and whips Wheal away through backward square. A single to finish as 15 comes off it!
Brad Wheal from the opposite end
IND 8/0 in 1 over: Watt finds some movement in the air as the ball hits middle and straightens to Rahul. He tucks it fine and gets off strike. Rohit drives one to cover and quickly shuffles down to take a single. Another single as KL flicks Watt off the middle-stump. Rohit takes the aerial route and gets a FOUR! Watt floats one outside off and Rohit lofts the ball over cover. He takes a single and retains strike.
Mark Watt with the new ball. First time in the PowerPlay in the tournament!
The chase is ON! Rohit and KL at the middle. Kohli and Surya padded up in the dug-out.
India is surely going for it. Wonder if there's a change in the batting lineup tonight? No signs from the dressing room just as yet, says our man Ayan from the stadium. " Rahul is padded up. Looks like they'll stuck with the opening pair."
Ravindra Jadeja
: Played good cricket. We bowled very well. This is what we planned - to bowl in the right areas and get them out early. Odd ball was spinning, odd one went straight. I was just looking to bowl in the right area and the wicket was doing the work. We wanted to bowl so that we can take full advantage of the pitch (with three spinners). Finally we won the toss today. Yes, dew seems to have come in now. It does play a big part in the second innings. They have not got a big score. Yes we will look to chase it down early.
SCO 85 all out in 17.4 overs: Bumrah to Watt. OUT! Another yorker to wrap things up! India flexes its muscle and it was too hot for Scotland tonight. Now, it's all about going slam-bang with the willow. The bowlers have aced their job on a relatively flat surface while skipper VK rolled in the changes to perfection. Mark Watt b Bumrah 14 (13b 2x4
Bumrah back on
SCO 83/9 in 17 overs: Shami to MacLeod. OUT! Bowled him!! Full and into the block-hole and Shami waltzes through MacLeod's desperate attempt to block him off the stumps. Sharif is run out first ball! Well, well..what happened there? Shami drills in a yorker to Sharif's leg and goes up in loud appeal to the umpire. Sharif totally unaware of the commotion at the non-striker's tracks down halfway. Sub-fielder Kishan collects the ball in a flash from short cover and easily flashes the stumps. Sharif is miles down! SHAMI, you BEAUTY! An absolute pearler from Shami as he finds the toe-crushing yorker right on radar. The ball hits Evans' front toe and slips through to the stumps. What an over from Mo Sham!
Calum MacLeod b Mohammed Shami 16 (28b); Safyaan Sharif run out (sub [Ishan Kishan]) 0 (1b); Alasdair Evans b Mohammed Shami 0 (1b)
Shami is back.
SCO 80/6 in 16 overs: Watt steps out to Ashwin's tossed up delivery and gets a thick outside edge that trickles past Varun at short third for FOUR. A missed stumping as Pant fumbles. Watt advances again and this time Ashwin slips it wide to Pant. It skids low to his leg and Pant fails to collect it cleanly and misses a big chance.
Ashwin up for his final over
SCO 70/6 in 15 overs: Watt finds some room and crams Jadeja through square to the deep. Shami attempts a desperate stop but fumbles and sends the ball through for FOUR. Kohli isn't necessarily pleased by that effort. Jaddu finishes with figures: 4-0-15-3 - his best in T20Is.
Jadeja to bowl out
SCO 64/6 in 14 overs: Ashwin to Greaves. OUT! In the air and straight to Hardik at long-off! A slew of dot balls forces Greaves into this rash slog. He shimmies down and attempts to take Ashwin's floater over the fence but miscues it straight to Hardik who takes a dolly in the deep. Chris Greaves c Pandya b Ashwin 1 (7b)
Kohli brings on Ash
SCO 61/5 in 13 overs: Bumrah targets the base of the stumps and fires in the block-hole, ball after ball. Greaves and MacLeod does well to keep 'em off the stumps for now.
Bumrah replaces Shami
SCO 60/5 in 12 overs: Jadeja to Leask. OUT! There's the straighter one and Leask's a goner! Absolute sitting duck there from Leask as he opts for another sweep on the skiddy line from Jaddu. The ball beats the blade and thuds straight into the pads. Easy decision for Erasmus there.
Michael Leask lbw b Jadeja 21 (12b 2x4 1x6)
SCO 57/4 in 11 overs: Leask on the move! Shami sends in a quick bumper but Leask hooks him comfortably over fine leg for
SIX. Shami drops another delivery on the slot and Leask slams him down the ground for
FOUR. Shami follows up on the block-hole and keeps the batters down to singles.
Shami returns
SCO 44/4 in 10 overs: Leask attempts an audacious sweep and finds the mid-wicket fence for FOUR! CV keeps a tight line on the stumps but the batters move about more frequently to find the gaps.
CV is back, VK proactively switching between his bowlers.
SCO 36/4 in 9 overs: Jadeja skims through the over in his typical style. Keeps it pretty simple and tight on the wicket with the bowling skidding through. Just the four singles from the over.
SCO 32/4 in 8 overs: Ashwin continues to unload his bag of trickeries on the batters. Leask and MaCleod keep their anchors down and negotiate in singles.
Ashwin to continue.
SCO 29/4 in 7 overs: Jadeja to Berrington. OUT! Bowled him! Scotland slips into further disarray. Jadeja fires this one and gets straight through Berrington's gates. MacLeod gets off strike. Loud appeal and given! Cross is caught in front of the wicket with another sharp straighter one! Three reds on Scotland's review! Jadeja unleashes his magic with the ball and India will hope to wrap up quickly tonight. Richie Berrington b Jadeja 0 (5b); Matthew Cross lbw b Jadeja 2 (9b)
Jadeja into the attack.
SCO 27/2 in 6 overs: Shami to Munsey. OUT! Straight to mid-on! Shami goes full and into the pads. Munsey goes for the slog from the slot but mistimes the shot. He fails to get the desired elevation on it and Pandya takes a fine catch near the circle. Shami troubles Berrington with a barrage of bouncers angled at the ribs before firing in a yorker. Berrington gets some bat on it but the ball nearly slips through to hit the stumps. What an over from Shami, finishes the Powerplay with a wicket-maiden!
George Munsey c Pandya b Shami 24 (19b 4x4 1x6)
Shami into the attack
SCO 27/1 in 5 overs: Munsey attempts to clear the mid-off fielder twice in the over. He shuffles across to make room against Varun but KL does a find job inside the circle.
Varun from the other end
SCO 25/1 in 4 overs: Ashwin cramps Munsey with the slide to start, three dots. Munsey then makes room and slams through extra cover for FOUR. A bit of drama as Ashwin stops in his bowling stride as Munsey sets himself for a reverse-sweep. He goes for it anyway and finds the boundary this time. Make it three in a row! Another attempted reverse-sweep but this time Munsey gets a top-edge on it that sails over short third for FOUR.
Ashwin replaces Varun
SCO 13/1 in 3 overs: Bumrah to Coetzer. OUT! Foxes the skipper with a slower one! A Bumrah specially right there as he follows up the yorker with the perfect slower-ball. Coetzer fumbles on the ball and ends up getting some wood on before the ball sneaks through to clip the off-stump. Cross in at 3. A yorker to greet him. Bumrah is absolutely fired up here. Another one, nearly! Bumrah wafts in the slower-one and the leading-edge flies to SKY at cover, almost! Suryakumar springs forward in a valiant attempt but falls short by a whisker. Wicket-maiden for Bumrah! Kyle Coetzer b Bumrah 1 (7b)
SCO 13/0 in 2 overs: Munsey's in the mood. He watches CV's line carefully and then launches a reverse-sweep to beat point for FOUR.
Chakaravarthy into the attack
SCO 8/0 in 1 over: Prodigious swing for Bumrah as he gushes the ball into Munsey's pads outside the leg-stump. Munsey gets off the mark with a single through point. Another yorker from Boom! This time the ball tails down leg and into the pads of the right-handed Coetzer. The batters sneak in a single. Top start from Bumrah here, aiming straight for the wickets. WOW, Munsey! Bumrah strays to the pads and Munsey whips him away over square leg for a massive SIX ! Absolute disdain as he launches a half-helicopter to send it miles into the stands.
Jasprit Bumrah with the new ball. Munsey on strike.
Anthems done. It's game time in the Ring of Fire. Kohli's troops will set take the field and will aim to make light work of the Scottish batters. He leads an animated chat in the huddle before dispersing away.
The teams walk out for the national anthems.
IndiaXI : KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli(c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
Scotland XI : George Munsey, Kyle Coetzer(c), Matthew Cross(w), Richie Berrington, Calum MacLeod, Michael Leask, Chris Greaves, Mark Watt, Safyaan Sharif, Alasdair Evans, Bradley Wheal
TOSS TIME!
The rough equation for India is to have a combined 120-plus run win in the two matches against Scotland to Namibia to pip Afghanistan in the NRR under favourable conditions.
6:58PM IST: Ayan adds on before the toss:
6:52PM IST: The Indian huddle is ready ahead of the toss. India needs to make it as big a win as possible. Coetzer's men aren't going to make any bit easy as well.
6:50PM IST: NZ vs NAM updates - The Kiwis win by 52 runs and jump to six points. The focus now shifts to India and Afghanistan who will have to earn their place the hard way.
6:40PM IST: Live visuals show Bumrah with a strapped knee. Varun Chakaravarthy is having a bowl as well. In fact all of them barring Shardul Thakur is having a bowl. Will India opt for three spinners on what looks like a relatively flat surface?
6:35PM IST: The scenarios as it stands: The New Zealand - Afghanistan is surely the decider of Group 2. If NZ beats AFG, they are through alongside Pakistan into the semis. If AFG wins, the team with the better NRR between IND and AFG will go through.
6:30PM IST: Half an hour away from the toss. The Namibians haven't quite done a far for India as they slip-up in the chase. India's now got to do its bit and wait until Sunday's evening clash where the Kiwis go up against Afghanistan.
5:45PM IST: Our correspondent Ayan Acharya is at the venue. He mentions that the rollers are up and running. Looks like a flat surface is on the cards . "Looks like a belter of a wicket. Expect a high-scoring game," he says. "Scotland team already warming up. The Indian support staff is now making its way into the ground."
Meanwhile, India's permutations still hinges on the New Zealand, Namibia game. The Namibians are building on an ambitious chase. Follow the game here: NZ vs NAM LIVE Score
5:05PM IST: Some energy moving into this one!
5:00PM IST: NUMBERS GAME
4:30PM IST: Head to head stats:
India's first-ever T20 World Cup game was slotted against Scotland in 2007. To everyone's dismay MS Dhoni's India captaincy debut was a washout without a ball being bowled.
India and Scotland have faced in a lone ODI the same year where the Men in Blue merged victorious.
MATCH PREVIEW
“I think everyone's approach today was different. I wish it was in the first two games as well, but it didn’t happen.” Minutes after India outplayed Afghanistan to register its maiden win in the ICC T20 World Cup’s seventh edition, India vice-captain Rohit Sharma summed up the campaign so far.
Rohit was as nonchalant while interacting with the scribes as he was at the crease at the Zayed Cricket Stadium earlier on Wednesday. The 66-run win gave India a glimmer of hope after the losses to Pakistan and New Zealand.
The only way India can make it to the knockouts is by crushing Scotland and Namibia in its last two encounters at a handsome Net Run Rate, and hope for an Afghanistan victory against New Zealand on Sunday.
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While India won’t have any control over Sunday’s result, it has an excellent opportunity on Friday against the Scots.
Having qualified for the main draw, Scotland has been competitive against most of the top sides, even stretching New Zealand to the hilt before going down on Wednesday. As a result, it will be keen to continue in the same vein.
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The Indian batters have regained their touch, and they will be eager to showcase their quality against Scotland in the first meeting between the two nations in a T20I game. In 2007, the India-Scotland game was washed-out in South Africa.
India will be playing on the slight chance on offer. “We know that if we lose any game from here on now, we are out of the tournament, so we have to win everything. When you are in that kind of situation, you have to play fearlessly and not think too much about what is happening elsewhere,” said Rohit.
“Decision making sometimes can be a problem, and that is exactly what happened in the first two games. We are a very good team. It’s just that we were not good on that particular day against Pakistan and New Zealand. But yes, today the game we played, it pretty much sums it up that this is the kind of team we are. And when we play fearlessly, this is what we get.”
It will be interesting to see if India comes to the party again.
WHERE TO WATCH TODAY'S MATCH?
The T20 World Cup 2021 match between India and Scotland will be aired live on the Star Sports Network at 7:30pm IST. The online live streaming will be available on Disney+ Hotstar .
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