Photo Credit: ICC
Virat Kohli could not have asked for a better birthday present in Dubai.
After a disappointing start to the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, everything went right for India as they kept their qualification hopes alive with a thumping victory over Scotland.
From the moment Kohli called the toss right – his first correct call of the tournament – it felt like it might be his team’s day and almost to a man, they delivered an emphatic performance.
Even the decision to bring in Varun Chakravarthy in place of Shardul Thakur as a third spinner proved a masterstroke, with the 30-year-old conceding just 15 from his three overs.
He contributed to one of the most complete bowling performances of the tournament so far, with all five of India’s attack combining brilliantly to restrict Scotland to 85 all out.
Jasprit Bumrah signalled India’s intent from his first over, firing a string of yorkers before Varun attempted to befuddle George Munsey and Kyle Coetzer with his mystery spin.
Credit to Munsey and Coetzer, they dealt with the initial barrage well, as the former demonstrated his invention with some excellent boundary-hitting in the early stages of the contest.
But India never look flustered against a team 11 places below them in the ICC MRF Tyres T20 Team Rankings and it was not long before Bumrah made the breakthrough.
Munsey still showed no signs of being daunted by the challenge but his ambition caught up with him in the sixth over, finding Hardik Pandya off the bowling of Mohammed Shami.
At that point, Scotland were still right in the mix but if the tide was beginning to turn in India’s favour, the arrival of Ravindra Jadeja hastened the momentum swing greatly.
Jadeja was in the mood. Matt Cross attempted to make room to smack his first ball of the innings but it proved too good for him to get away and he settled for a single off the next.
Richie Berrington then had no answer to Jadeja, who demonstrated exactly why he can be so dangerous in this format as he sent the Scotland batter packing with a superb delivery.
The 32-year-old often has to take on the role of chief restrictor for Kohli’s men when the ball is not spinning but when it does start to move, Jadeja becomes a whole different prospect.
That was the case in Dubai and after his previous two balls kept going with the angle, Jadeja pitched his third around middle and off and beat Berrington all ends up.
It may not have turned much but it turned enough – and Jadeja soon had his second victim a few balls later as Cross was pinned in front by one that skidded on straight.
Four overs passed without Scotland losing another wicket but it was that man Jadeja who rose to the occasion again, removing Michael Leask with a plumb lbw just as he was gathering steam.
Jadeja finished with three for 15 to achieve his best figures in the T20 format and take Player of the Match honours despite facing stiff competition from the rest of India’s bowling attack.
And he particularly relished his opening wicket in his post-match interview.
“I was enjoying bowling today,” said Jadeja. “The old ball was turning and spinning so I enjoyed today very much. The first one [wicket] was the special one.
“When you get the batter like that on a turning ball it is a special wicket.
“We looked to play a good brand of cricket. We knew we had to win with a big margin so we could improve our net run-rate so we gave 100% and did what we had to.
“If we play like this no one can beat us. We have to play like this in the T20 format.”
Jadeja was far from alone propelling India to a much-needed victory, however, with Shami matching the spinner by also taking a T20 personal best of three for 15.
Bumrah was the most economical of India’s bowlers as he took the first and last wickets while Ravichandran Ashwin also chipped in with a wicket as Scotland fell short of a competitive target.
The chase was never likely to be a problem for India but knowing their net run-rate will be crucial if they are to progress ahead of New Zealand and Afghanistan, they got to work quickly.
KL Rahul (50 off 18 balls) and Rohit Sharma (30 off 16) smashed eight fours and two sixes in the first 24 balls and paved the way for victory to be secured in just 6.3 overs.
That means India’s net run-rate is above both New Zealand and Afghanistan so should the Black Caps slip up against the Afghans on Sunday, the door is suddenly slightly ajar for Kohli’s men when they face Namibia on Monday.
From being down and out following back-to-back defeats in their opening two games, India are right back in the hunt for the final four. As birthdays go, it’s been a good one for Kohli.
Name of Author: ICC
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global governing body for cricket, founded in 1909 as the Imperial Cricket Conference. Renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, it became the ICC in 1987. Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, the ICC has 108 member nations.
