Kolkata: Adil Rashid’s brilliant triple strike and Liam Dawson’s twin blows triggered a dramatic Scotland collapse as England bowled them out for 152 in 19.4 overs in their crucial T20 World Cup Group C clash here Saturday.
Scotland were cruising at 113 for 3 and looked set to breach the 200-run mark with skipper Richie Berrington and Tom Bruce in full flow against their ‘Auld’ rivals England.
But what promised to be a big total turned into a below-par score as England’s spin twins turned the game on its head in the middle overs in their must-win clash.
After conceding 26 runs in his first two overs, Rashid changed ends to the High Court End and transformed the contest.
Against the run of play, he dismissed Berrington for a 32-ball 49 (5×4, 2×6), one short of a half-century.
In his next over, Rashid struck twice in three balls, removing Matthew Cross and Mark Watt.
Watt was completely beaten as the ball spun through the gate to knock back his stumps.
Rashid finished with 3/36, while left-arm spinner Dawson (2/34) chipped in with two wickets in two overs.
The spin duo shared five wickets in four overs as Scotland collapsed from 113/3 to 127/8, losing five wickets for 14 runs in a stunning middle-over slide.
Jamie Overton (1/23) also kept things tight as Scotland failed to recover from the collapse.
England struck early through Jofra Archer (2/24), who removed inform opener George Munsey (4) and Brandon McMullen (0) in three balls inside the powerplay.
Michael Jones (33 off 20 balls) tried to lift the scoring, smashing Sam Curran for two fours and a six in the final over of the powerplay before falling in the same over.
Scotland were 42/3 at the end of powerplay.
The real momentum shift came when Berrington counterattacked the spinners using their flight.
He used Rashid’s flight to good effect, hitting him for a boundary and a six in an 18-run over, with Bruce adding another maximum.
The pair added 71 runs off just 41 balls for the fourth wicket, putting Scotland in a commanding position.
The pitch offered extra pace and bounce, which Archer exploited well with short balls in his opening spell.
The pacer also reached a milestone, becoming the third English quick after Stuart Broad and Mark Wood to take 50 wickets in all three formats.
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