Virat Kohli-led Team India successfully defeated Scotland by eight wickets in the Super 12 Group 2 match of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup which has helped them keep their semi-final hopes alive.
Friday's outstanding performance that saw Team India win by 8 wickets now also means they have drastically improved his net run rate after chasing down Scotland's 85 with 81 balls to spare.
Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja finished with identical 3/15 figures while KL Rahul smashed an 18-ball half century in the chase. The skipper was happy with the performance as he said, 'A dominating performance, something that we were striving to do again' during the post-match presentation.
'The bowlers were excellent, and then KL and Rohit did really well. We spoke about the 8-10 over bracket before the start, didn't want to really go too hard because if you lose wickets, then an extra 20 balls could cost. We thought that if they play naturally, runs would come quickly,' added Kohli.
After Friday's match, India has managed to move up in the points table and has climbed up the ladder in terms of the Net Run Rate. They are currently sitting at the third place right between New Zealand and Afghanistan, with a run rate of +1.619.
Now India’s qualification to the next round depends upon the result of the Afghanistan vs New Zealand match on Sunday at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. In case Afghanistan manage to beat New Zealand then India have a chance of grabbing the second spot from Group 2 in the semi-finals if they pull of a comprehensive victory over Namibia on Monday.
The Indian skipper also celebrated his 33rd birthday on Friday and while he started the match by winning the toss - his first in the entire tournament so far, Virat said he would be happy to celebrate his birthday with his wife and young daughter.
'I'm over that phase now (of celebrating birthdays). My wife and daughter are here and that celebration is enough, the family being here is a blessing in itself,' the skipper said.