Having survived a scare against 18th-ranked Nepal and losing to West Indies, World No. 3 England is precariously placed fourth in the group. A defeat to last-minute entrant Scotland will seriously dent England’s reputation and its chances of making it to the Super Eight.
Familiar with the conditions, England will bank on its batting strength, consisting of Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks. Its bowling attack has adequate resources in pace and spin departments, featuring Jofra Archer, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson.
| Photo Credit:
AP
England’s captain Harry Brook leaves the ground after losing his wicket during the T20 World Cup match against West Indies.
| Photo Credit:
AP
Even though England looks stronger on paper, it needs to execute its plans well to secure a much-needed win and improve its position on the table.
A majority of the Scottish players have the experience of playing county cricket in England and that will reduce the surprise factor for both sides.
“It’s obviously a pretty cool day for everyone — England playing Scotland in cricket (World Cup) and in the Six Nations (rugby). It’s the Calcutta Cup (in rugby) and we’re playing in Kolkata, so that’s quite a coincidence. But it’s awesome. Obviously for everyone, we just want to go out there and make our country proud. It’s a big day for Scottish sport and obviously a massive opportunity for both teams to get a big win,” said Brad Wheal of Scotland on Friday.
However, England opener Salt is not too excited about the English-Scottish sporting rivalry and prefers to focus on the job in hand. “It doesn’t mean loads to me in any sports other than cricket,” said Salt.
Scotland, which convincingly beat Italy, will be pumped up because of the fact that it has done reasonably well despite its late entry and the lack of preparation and is in contention for a Super Eight berth.
ALSO READ | Zimbabwe upsets Australia with a 23-run win in Colombo
George Munsey, Richie Berrington, Michael Jones and all-rounders Brandon McMullen and Michael Leask can shoulder the responsibility of Scotland’s batting, while Brad Currie and Mark Watt will look to play crucial roles in bowling.
Scotland has already set high standards in fielding and will feel at home at Eden Gardens after playing two matches.
Since the only previous meeting between both teams in the T20 World Cup was washed out in 2024, it will be interesting to see which side draws the first blood.
Published on Feb 13, 2026
Discover more from News Link360
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
