England took a big step towards reaching the Super 8 stage of the Men’s T20 World Cup by closing out a five-wicket win over Scotland in Kolkata.
Harry Brook’s side had clung on for a four-run win over Nepal and lost to the West Indies in their first two Group C matches, leaving them fourth in the five-team standings and under pressure to avoid an embarrassing early exit.
Richie Berrington (49) and Tom Bruce (24) put on an impressive 71-run stand to help Scotland recover from 42-3 after losing the toss and being put into bat by England, who responded by claiming five wickets in the space of 21 balls.
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Jofra Archer reached 50 T20I wickets after claiming two in an over during Scotland’s innings
Scotland were eventually dismissed for 152 after 19.4 overs, before Tom Banton’s brilliant 33-ball 50 saw England respond from losing both openers early to accelerate towards their victory target.
Banton finished unbeaten on 63 and put on key stands with Jacob Bethell (32) and Sam Curran (28), with Will Jacks (16 not out) closing out victory with back-to-back boundaries as England chased down their target with 10 balls to spare and claim their second win of the tournament.
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Jos Buttler gave his wicket away early as he skied it to Brandon McMullen, leaving England two down early in their run chase against Scotland
England are now guaranteed a place in the Super 8s with victory over Italy on Monday (live on Sky Sports Cricket from 9.30am), while Scotland need to beat Nepal on Tuesday and for results to go their way for them to have any chance of progressing.
More to follow…
England’s T20 World Cup fixtures and results (first round)
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