England defeat Scotland to boost Super 8 qualification hopes

England took a big step towards advancing to the Super 8 stage of the Men’s T20 World Cup by closing out a five-wicket win over Scotland at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Richie Berrington (49) and Tom Bruce (24) put on an impressive 71-run stand to help Scotland recover from 42-3 after losing the toss and being inserted by England, who responded by arresting five wickets in the space of 21 balls.

Scotland were eventually dismissed for 152 after 19.4 overs, before Tom Banton’s sparkling 33-ball 50 saw England respond from losing both openers in a jiffy to accelerate towards their victory target.

Banton finished unbeaten on 63 and forged key alliances with Jacob Bethell (32) and Sam Curran (28), with Will Jacks (16 not out) wrapping up the triumph with back-to-back boundaries as England chased down their target with 10 balls to spare to claim their second win of the tournament.

England are now guaranteed a place in the Super 8s with victory over Italy on Monday, while Scotland need to beat Nepal on Tuesday and for other results to favour them to have any chance of progressing.