Harry Brook has opted to chase against Scotland as England look to put their defeat against West Indies behind them and push towards the Super Eights.
Both teams come into this match on two points, with Scotland ahead (second) of England (fourth) by virtue of Net Run Rate following their dominant win over Italy. Both have their destiny in their own hands, needing to win their final two matches to qualify out of Group C.
England are favorites for this clash. An unchanged XI from their defeat to West Indies suggests a level of confidence that England expect they are tapering in this campaign, even if they were out thought and outgunned a few days ago after sneaking past Nepal in their opener.
"We just fancy chasing," said Brook at the toss. "It’s quite a quick outfield and it’s a good wicket.
"We were a little bit too careful with the bat chasing (against West Indies). I felt like we could have taken more aggressive options. Hopefully we can improve on that today."
Scotland, too, are also unchanged, and have the advantage of conditions having played their first two matches at Eden Gardens. Skipper Richie Berrington revealed he would have chosen to bat first in any case given how the deck has played so far. His side were the first to breach 200 in this tournament.
"It’s been really good for us to get a feel of conditions here," said Berrington. "In general it has been a good batting track. The key will be how we play spin in that middle period.
"We’re obviously up against a very good team. They’re used to traveling and having to adapt to different conditions. It’s a new day, a new wicket."
This will be the first completed T20I between England and Scotland after their meeting in Bridgetown during 2024's T20 World Cup was washed out.
Former skipper Jos Buttler plays his 150th T20I, having moved ahead of James Anderson last week as England's most capped cricketer across all formats.
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