This question checks two things at once: whether you can pick the right verb form to complete a sentence, and whether you know when to use "despite" versus "instead of" or "in spite of." Read the second sentence first, since it fixes the tense for the whole passage.
- score; despite: "Score" is the base form of the verb. Used alone with no helping verb like "did" or "has," it cannot act as the main verb of a finished past action, so this option leaves the sentence grammatically incomplete.
- scoring; instead of: "Scoring" is a gerund or present participle, again not a finite verb, so it cannot carry the sentence on its own. "Instead of" also changes the meaning to a swap, which is not what the sentence describes.
- scored; despite: "Scored" is the simple past tense, matching "needed" later in the passage. "Despite" is a preposition that correctly takes the noun "rains" right after it, giving the meaning "even though it rained."
- scoring; in spite of: "Scoring" again fails as a stand-alone main verb, even though "in spite of" would have been an acceptable connector on its own.
Only the third option keeps the verb tense consistent across the passage and uses a connector that correctly precedes a plain noun. The complete sentence reads: "The team scored more than 300 runs in 20 overs despite rains."
Let's sum up the two checks:
- The main verb of a finished action needs a simple past form like "scored," not a bare form or an -ing form.
- "Despite" and "in spite of" both take a noun object directly, but "instead of" carries a different meaning of substitution, so it cannot replace them here.
The correct sequence is "scored; despite," which is option (C).