England revived their T20 World Cup campaign with a five wicket win over Scotland in Kolkata, a result that leaves Scotland close to a group stage exit.
Scotland were dismissed for 152 on a strong batting surface. England then lost Phil Salt and Jos Buttler inside two overs and slipped to 86 for four when Harry Brook was caught for four. The position placed England under pressure before Tom Banton secured the chase with 10 balls remaining.
Banton struck consecutive sixes off spinner Mark Watt to change the momentum and finished 63 not out. He received support from Jacob Bethell, who made 32, and Sam Curran, who added 28. Scotland’s fielding and bowling remained disciplined but they were unable to convert a promising batting platform. Captain Richie Berrington made 49 and guided Scotland to 113 for three in the 13th over before the innings fell away.
Adil Rashid recovered from an expensive start to return figures of three for 36. Jofra Archer took two wickets in the powerplay and finished with two for 23. England will confirm a place in the Super 8s with victory over Italy on Monday. Scotland face Nepal in their final group match on Tuesday and could be eliminated before that fixture.
England remain in search of a complete performance in the tournament. The side escaped with a narrow win over Nepal and lost to West Indies before this result. Previous tournaments have shown England can recover after early setbacks but improvement is required against stronger opposition.
Scotland opened the bowling with medium pace from Brandon McMullen and Brad Currie and generated more movement than England’s attack. Salt and Buttler both sliced catches into the off side ring for two and three. England did not strike a boundary from the bat in the first four overs.
Bethell steadied the innings with a patient approach. Banton then produced the decisive knock after a difficult run across his previous 36 international appearances. Bethell was caught attempting a scoop over short fine leg and Brook fell in similar fashion.
Banton stayed straight and settled after scoring six from his first 10 balls without a boundary. His first boundary came from his 11th delivery. Curran struck two sixes late in the innings and Will Jacks hit the winning runs.
Scotland’s total looked below par but England faced a testing period during the chase. England took three wickets in the powerplay with Archer removing George Munsey and Brandon McMullen after miscued pulls in an energetic opening spell. Berrington responded with aggressive play against the spinners, striking Rashid for two fours and a six in one over and sharing a stand of 71 with Tom Bruce.
At 113 for three in the 13th over, Scotland were on course for a higher total. Bruce then fell for 24 when he slog swept Liam Dawson to deep square leg.
Several batters found fielders in the deep as wickets fell. Rashid trapped Berrington lbw in the next over and, after conceding 26 runs in his first two overs, returned three for 10 in his second spell. Dawson took two for 34 and dismissed Michael Leask with a catch in the deep.
Scotland lost five wickets for 14 runs in 3.3 overs. The collapse left them short of the additional runs required to remain strongly placed in the group.