Just before the T20 World Cup 2026, England had whitewashed Sri Lanka in the 3-match T20 series. The English team had achieved this victory at the home of Sri Lanka. It seemed that she would continue the same explosive form in the T20 World Cup but she had to struggle to win against Nepal in her first match. If Sam Curran had not defended 9 runs in the last over at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, England would have suffered one of the biggest upsets.
After narrowly escaping defeat against Nepal, England’s next match was against West Indies at Wankhede itself. In the match played on Wednesday, the English team restricted West Indies to below 200 (196/7) but while chasing the target, it was limited to 166. Now it has become a ‘do or die’ situation for him. Another defeat could decide his departure from the tournament. England’s last two group matches are against associate teams like Scotland and Italy but there will definitely be a fear in their mind.
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What will England be afraid of?
The England team, captained by Harry Brook, will face Scotland at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday (February 14). To remain in the tournament, England needs to win at any cost but history is scaring them. Actually, the English team has not yet been able to win against any European team in the T20 World Cup. It has played 5 matches against European teams, in which it has faced defeat in 3, while two matches were washed out due to rain. Netherlands had defeated them in 2009 and 2014. Whereas in 2022 it was defeated by Ireland. In such a situation, if England wants to remain in the race for Super-8, then they will have to change history at Eden Gardens.
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What is England’s position in the points table?
England is at fourth position in Group C with 2 points. Scotland and Italy also have 2 points each but are above England in second and third place respectively with a better net run rate. In such a situation, whichever of these two teams defeats England, it will be almost certain that they will go to the Super-8.
Probable playing XI of both the teams:
England – Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethel, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (c), Sam Curran, Will Jacques, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.
Scotland – George Munsey, Michael Jones, Brandon McMullan, Richie Berrington (c), Tom Bruce, Michael Leask, Matthew Cross (wk), Mark Watt, Oliver Davidson, Brad Wheel, Brad Currie
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