T20 World Cup 2021: 3 Indian players who reached personal milestones against Scotland
The Indian cricket team needed a big win to keep their slim hopes in the T20 World Cup 2021 alive. Against Scotland, one of the most impressive teams in the first round of the tournament, the Men in Blue landed the knockout punch on the back of a stellar all-round performance.
While Jasprit Bumrah featuring among the wickets was hardly a surprise, it was Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja - two much-criticised limited-overs bowlers - who turned up with the goods, bagging three wickets apiece. Although R Ashwin and Varun Chakaravarthy got a sole wicket between them, the duo contributed to ensure Scotland never found a pressure release valve.
Having bowled out Scotland for a mere 85, India's job wasn't done. To secure the highest net run rate of the group, they needed to knock off the target in under eight overs. Openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma answered the call in style, putting on 70 in just 4.5 overs. Though there was a bit of a stumble in the next few deliveries as Scotland saw the back of both openers, India romped home in 6.3 overs as Suryakumar Yadav hit a winning six.
On a night where records tumbled - India piled on the highest powerplay score of the tournament (82/2), KL Rahul scored the tournament's fastest fifty (18 balls) and India recorded their largest victory in terms of balls to spare (81) - there were several individual gainers as well.
Here are three Indian stars who raked up memorable personal achievements on the night.
#3 Mohammed Shami - best T20I bowling figures (3/15)
Mohammed Shami's selection for the T20 World Cup, ahead of Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur, was one which raised eyebrows. A career economy of 9.53 in the shortest format does not inspire much confidence, and after a horror first game against Pakistan, it seemed like the Indian team had erred in selection.
Although India's fate was no longer in their own hands, Shami showed his resilience and tore into Afghanistan with figures of 3/32 in India's third match. Against Scotland, he bettered his effort, returning 3/15 including a maiden. Shami stood up and achieved personal best bowling figures when the team needed a big victory.
#2 Ravindra Jadeja - best T20I bowling figures (3/15)
Starting out as a wily left-arm orthodox bowler, Ravindra Jadeja has seen the highs and lows in his 12-year-long T20I career. Once a lynchpin of India's bowling, Jadeja fell out of favor after a string of insipid white-ball performances, only to force his way back into the squad in 2019 as an improved and indispensable all-rounder.
Like Shami, Jadeja started the World Cup poorly, unable to help his team with a wicket in the first two games. But against Scotland, he rolled back the years. Sending back batsmen via classical modes of dismissal, Jadeja recorded his career-best figures of 3/15 as the Scottish middle order crumbled.
#1 Jasprit Bumrah - India's top T20I wicket-taker (64)
When the Indian Premier League 2021 wrapped up, many felt that the Indian bowling unit would suffer in the World Cup. The likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja had not been among the wickets, and some feared Jasprit Bumrah would have to carry the bowling unit.
Bumrah did exactly that in the first two games of the World Cup, being the only bowler to strike in the game against New Zealand. Although the other bowlers supported him a lot more in the next two games, Bumrah continued being lethal and economical.
His two wickets against Scotland took him to 64 career T20I wickets, the highest for India - past Yuzvendra Chahal, who narrowly missed out on T20 World Cup selection.