DUBAI: Virat Kohli and boys got their much-needed win on the board against Afghanistan in the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup and now the side would look to rack up their second win of the tournament.
India will next lock horns against Scotland at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday and the side would hope to register a comprehensive victory to further boost their net run rate in order to remain in the hunt for the qualification for semi-finals.
In the match against Afghanistan, everything fell into place for Kohli and the boys. Batting first, India managed to score 210 runs as Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul went all guns blazing for the Men in Blue.
Rohit returned to open against Afghanistan and his impact was there for everyone to see as he made full use of the powerplay overs. Rahul played a second fiddle, but he picked up his tempo later on.
Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant proved why they are viewed as game changers and both of them scored runs at a brisk pace, taking India's score past the 200-run mark. The batting order must be filled with confidence now, and one can expect them to go all guns blazing against Scotland.
Ravichandran Ashwin was given his first game in the ongoing competition and he proved why people asking for his inclusion in the side were right. The off-spinner returned with figures of 2-14 in his four overs and he was the main reason why Men in Blue managed to maintain a stranglehold over the Afghanistan batting order.
Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur, Hardik, and Ravindra Jadeja also chipped in and India gave a complete performance against Afghanistan. The good thing heading into the Scotland game is that every department is filled with confidence.
The Men in Blue also need to keep an eye on their run rate, so one can expect Kohli and team to go hell for leather from ball number one.
Scotland is yet to register a victory in the Super 12 stage but they cannot be taken lightly as they gave New Zealand a run for their money on Wednesday. Chasing 173, Scotland fell just 16 runs short, so the Men in Blue need to bring their A-game to register a win.
Squads: India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami.
Scotland: Kyle Coetzer (captain), Richard Berrington, Dylan Budge, Matthew Cross (wk), Josh Davey, Ally Evans, Chris Greaves, Michael Leask, Calum Macleod, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Hamza Tahir, Craig Wallace, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal.