England’s T20 World Cup history against European teams has been largely disappointing. They lost to the Netherlands by four wickets at Lord’s in 2009 and again by 45 runs in Chattogram in 2014. Ireland also handed them a defeat in 2022, while rain caused their matches against Ireland in 2010 and Scotland in 2024 to be abandoned. After 17 years of waiting, England finally broke the streak of getting beaten by European teams by defeating Scotland by five wickets at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Batting first, the Richie Bennington-led side lost wickets at regular intervals and that became an issue. At that stage, the captain, alongside Michael Jones, stitched a 71-run partnership that allowed Scotland to fightback in the match. However, soon after the pair departed, wickets fell like a house of cards as the team posted 152 runs on the board.
Adil Rashid was the star among the bowlers for England as he claimed three, while Jofra Archer and Liam Dawson managed two each.
What happened in second innings?
It was expected to be a simple chase for England but the matter soon turned complicated after Phil Salt departed for two runs and Jos Buttler for three. England were reduced to 13/2 and suddenly, the team was put under pressure, particularly given their history against European teams.
Nevertheless, they managed to recover from that as Jacob Bethell and Tom Banton built a 66-run partnership. Batting at four, Banton played a charismatic knock of 63 runs off 41 balls to win the match for the team. Sam Curran and Will Jacks also played an important role, scoring 28 runs and unbeaten 16.
Meanwhile, it was a must-win game for England after they suffered a 30-run defeat to West Indies earlier in the competition. As things stand, they are second on the Group C points table but need to win their final match against Italy to remain alive in the competition.
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