"Miracle, miracle" - Fans delighted as Indian skipper Virat Kohli finally wins the toss on his birthday against Scotland
Team India's World Cup campaign got back on track with a win in their previous encounter against Afghanistan. Tonight they will face the Scotland side in another crucial encounter. The Indian team will have one eye on net run rate calculations throughout the game.
Virat Kohli finally won the toss and chose to bowl first in this game. Varun Chakravarthy replaced pacer Shardul Thakur in Team India's playing XI. Veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin held on to his place in the team.
Here are the playing XIs for today's game:
India playing XI: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli(c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah
Scotland playing 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
View the T20 World Cup 2021 timetable here.
Fans were delighted as Virat Kohli won the toss after losing thrice already in this World Cup. They expressed the same through intriguing on Twitter. Here are some of the best reactions:
Oho, Kohli wins toss as a birthday present! I was readying to see India bat first and aim for another 200-plus score. Chalo, now bowlers have opportunity to set up win
India playing a spin bowling trio of an engineer, architect and swordsman #INDvsSCO #T20WorldCup
Having the extra spin option means India can bowl spin early and then through the middle overs if early wickets fall. #INDvSCO #T20WorldCup
Virat kohli won toss today finally on his birthday 🥳
#INDvsSCO https://t.co/iXbQ78ZEOU
Virat kohli won the toss
Today on his birthday..
(ind vs Scotland)
Every indian fan - https://t.co/hCdxMmm0X1
😂 Scotland know don't they...
twitter.com/CricketScotlan…
#INDvsSCO #IndiaVsScotland
Kohli Wins The Toss*
Indians : https://t.co/HCfeTB4VGn
#INDvsSCO
What is the best gift you got on your 33rd ?
VK- I won the toss today https://t.co/Wr9NK5rLBN
You know 👇👇
India have won the Toss
Behind the Scene:
#INDvsSCO https://t.co/kO52ITA7Ng
Virat Kohli with Dale Steyn after the toss. The RCB reunion. #INDvsSCO https://t.co/3UsfGjnwGE
India won the toss...... 🥺
Birthday boy finally got lucky! 🥺💙
*Itni khushi, itni khushi mujhe aaj tak..*
#INDvsSCO https://t.co/k823Op0SHE
Nothing makes me happier than Virat Kohli winning the toss.
#INDvsSCO
India clearly has bowlers who are slightly better than Mohammed Shami: Sanjay Manjrekar
Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar was critical of Mohammed Shami's track record in T20 games and pointed out that he has been very expensive. He reckons that Shami is a great Test bowler but has not been able to perform similarly in the T20 format.
In a video on his social media platform, Sanjay Manjrekar advocated that India should groom format-specific players and said:
"I think the time has come now for India to look at their T20 team and look at certain players and maybe assess whether these guys are better suited to playing some other format... Maybe there are some players in this T20 team who will add greater value or the best value that they can possibly add in one format and not be as good in the others... I am thinking about Mohammed Shami."
Manjrekar added:
"I think we have seen enough of Mohammed Shami to know that his greatest quality and where he's a superb asset for the team is Test cricket. The last time I looked, his economy in T20 cricket was 9. I know he bowled well against Afghanistan but India clearly has bowlers who are slightly better than Mohammed Shami in T20 cricket."
Shami will handle the pace bowling responsibilities with Jasprit Bumrah in this game as India opted to go with three spinners. India will have to win tonight's game by a big margin to stay in contention for a spot in the semi-finals.