Kolkata, Feb 14 (IANS) Tom Banton’s unbeaten 63 and Jacob Bethell’s 32 helped England edge out Scotland by five wickets with 10 balls to spare in the 23rd match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Eden Gardens. This was also England’s first victory against a European side in T20 World Cup history.

After a spirited late-order contribution from Oliver Davidson, Scotland managed to reach 150 runs. Scotland’s innings then fell apart as they lost wickets at regular intervals, eventually being bowled out for 152 runs in 19.4 overs. Adil Rashid finished with excellent figures of 3 wickets for 36 runs as Jofra chipped in with two for 24.

England had a rocky start to the chase with both Phil Salt and Jos Buttler getting out within the first couple of overs (2 and 3, respectively). Scotland’s opening bowlers (Brad Currie and Richie McMullen) were exceptional through the first 6 overs, getting England behind. But Banton and Jacob Bethell then put them on course to victory with their fine knocks.

Numbers game Scotland v England match:

17: England batters failed to hit a boundary in the first four overs. This was the 17th instance when no boundary was hit in the first four overs of an innings in the T20WC.

3: England became the third full member side to fail to hit a boundary in the first four overs against an Associate team (Scotland) in the T20WC. Pakistan and South Africa are the other two. Pakistan achieved this dubious distinction vs Canada, while South Africa vs the Netherlands, both at New York in 2024.

4: Number of half-centuries scored by Tom Banton ( 63* ) in the T20Is. It was his first in the T20WC.

160.07: The strike rate of Tom Banton in the second innings so far. In the 15 efforts in the second innings, he has collected 413 runs at an average of 37.54, while batting first in the 12 innings, he has managed to score only 195 runs at an avg of 17.72. His strike rate in the first innings is 137.32.

1: In 6 matches of the T20WC, it was England’s first victory against the European teams. Earlier, they lost 3 matches and abandoned 2.

–IANS

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