T20 World Cup: England hold nerve to down tricky Scotland

Kolkata: England navigated choppy waters to register a five-wicket win over Scotland. Barring an unlikely, heavy defeat to Italy on Monday, England now look set to secure a place in the Super 8s.While the result was no surprise, England lived through a few anxious moments along the way. Their bowlers did well to restrict Scotland to 152 in 19.4 overs but the early dismissals of Phil Salt and Jos Buttler caused brief concern in the English camp. Eventually, England chased down the target, with 155/5 in 18.2 overs.

Chasing a modest target requiring just over seven-anda-half runs per over, Jacob Bethell and Tom Banton had the luxury of rebuilding the innings after England slipped to 13/1.

A cautious Powerplay, which yielded 43 runs, posed little concern as long as the pair remained at the crease.After the Powerplay, both batters showed their ability to accelerate at will, shifting through the gears with ease before Bethell (32 off 28b) fell trying to clear the ropes once too often. That, however, is the nature of T20 cricket and with 82/3 on the board at the halfway mark, England were still in a strong position.

Banton continued with calculated aggression, anchoring the chase with his fourth T20I half-century — 63* (41 balls; 4x4, 3x6).Earlier, England’s bowlers exploited helpful conditions to keep Scotland’s total within reach. Jofra Archer had figures of 2/24. His early blows rocked Scotland and forced them onto the back foot from the outset. A quickfire 49 (off 32b; 5x4, 2x6) from captain Richie Berrington and his 71run partnership with Tom Bruce lifted Scotland beyond 150.Brief scores: England 155/5 (Banton 63*, Bethell 32, Davidson 1-12) beat Scotland 152 (Berrington 49, Rashid 3-36, Archer 2-24) by 5 wickets.