The 37th match of the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will feature India against Scotland from Group 2. Scotland will hope to be a spoiler for India, while India will hope to defeat Scotland by a large margin to keep their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals alive. When India takes on Scotland, after a lone canceled match in 2007, it’ll be the first time they meet, as both sides have never played against each other in a T20I. In a game with so many different matchups and tactics, how much of an impact will unfamiliarity have? It could be one of the many essential factors in this game.
Pitch, Toss, and Conditions
The toss will be vital once again, with Dubai significantly favoring the chasing team. In Dubai, the game will take place at night, with heavy dew expected in the second half. The captain who wins the toss will want to chase once more. Can Captain Kohli finally win a toss, who has now lost three consecutive World Cup tosses and 13 of his previous 14 for India?
What to expect
Scotland’s fighting spirit
Despite their losses, India will be mindful of the threat that Scotland poses. They have shown that they can cause an upset by running New Zealand close in their previous game. In the powerplay, they rely heavily on their pacers, as well as Mark Watt’s left-arm spin later in the innings. But in the face of India’s in-form right-handed top order, it’ll be interesting to see their approach.
Indian openers back in-form
For India, a strong win is a must. They will again rely on Rahul and Rohit to provide a blistering start. If Afghanistan defeats New Zealand, India will not want to leave too much room to make up in the final game against Namibia. Now, to pull off an upset, Scotland will need players like Kyle Coetzer and Calum MacLeod, who are yet to make an impact in the T20 World Cup, to step up.
Fantasy XI: Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli, George Munsey, Lokesh Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Chris Greaves, Michael Leask, Jasprit Bumrah, Mark Watt, Mohammad Shami, R Ashwin
Captain:
KL Rahul
He is the leading run-scorer in Dubai since 2020, with 581 runs in 12 games at an average of 58.10.
Vice-captain:
Virat Kohli
India’s highest-ranked T20I batter has scored 372 runs in his last nine games at an average of 46.50 in Dubai.
India’s Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah
Scotland’s Probable XI: George Munsey, Kyle Coetzer (c), Matthew Cross (wk), Richie Berrington, Calum MacLeod, Michael Leask, Chris Greaves, Mark Watt, Safyaan Sharif, Alasdair Evans, Bradley Wheal