India trounce Scotland to keep T20 World Cup hopes alive

India stayed alive at the T20 World Cup with a quickfire eight-wicket rout of Scotland on Friday.
KL Rahul smashed 50 off 19 balls as India raced to a target of 86 in 6.3 overs to drastically improve their run rate in the Super 12 contest in Dubai and keep their semi-final push on track.

Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami took three wickets each to set up the crushing win after they bundled out Scotland for 85 in 17.4 overs following the team's decision to bowl first.

"If we play like this, nobody can beat us. In T20s, we have to play like this," spinner Jadeja said after being named man of the match for his figures of 3-15 from four overs.

"We just look to play a good brand of cricket. We were just looking to play our best game."

The resounding victory continues India's T20 World Cup resurgence after hammering Afghanistan on Wednesday following earlier losses to Pakistan and New Zealand.

However, they still need to win their last group game against Namibia on Monday and depend on the result of Sunday's New Zealand-Afghanistan match to have a chance of making the semi-finals.

The Indian bowling attack on Friday looked transformed from the one that allowed Pakistan to win by 10 wickets and New Zealand by eight wickets.

Jasprit Bumrah and Shami removed the Scotland openers before Jadeja pitched in to dismantle the opposition batting.

"We can't judge ourselves on the basis of two bad matches," he said.
"We will now try to play the same brand of cricket that you saw in the last game and this one. There was no panic in the dressing room," he said.

On the consequences of New Zealand beating Afghanistan on Sunday, a smiling Jadeja was quick to say we will "pack our backs and go home".

New Zealand stayed on course for the semi-finals with a 52-run win over Namibia earlier in the day.
Group 2 leaders Pakistan have already made sure of a semi-final place with four wins in four games.