Dominating performances from Josh Davey (3/25) and Kyle Coetzer (41) help Scotland stomp into Men's T20 World Cup Super 12 stage.
Scotland 123 for 3 in 17 overs (Kyle Coetzer 41, Richie Berrington 31*; Fayaz Butt 1/26) beat Oman 122 all-out (Aqib Ilyas 37, Zeeshan Maqsood 24; Josh Davey3/25) by 8 wickets.
Scotland and Oman squared off in the 10th match of the ICC Men's Twenty20 World Cup at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground, a dog-eat-dog competition that would have determined which team between the two will advance to the next stage of the tournament.
The battle-scarred Oman team was coming back from a defeat handed over to them by Bangladesh in the previous match which foiled their plans of qualifying in a trouble-free manner. The defeat also played in favour of Scotland, improving their chances of qualifying, as they now just needed to ensure a better run-rate to outplay their opponents. But both teams stepped out on the crease knowing the match was not going to be a walk in the park.
A confident Oman team, although a couple of points behind Scotland but with the advantage of a better Net Run Rate, decided to bat first after skipper Zeeshan Maqsood won the toss.
Early damages incurred by Oman
Winning the toss already put Oman at an advantage as they chose to bat first but that alone does not ensure a high score. Oman got off to an unstable start as they lost early wickets, losing two within the first three overs into the game. However, a composed Aqib Ilyas kept their ship afloat with a clinical knock of 37 runs off 35 deliveries. Having lost Jatinder Singh (0) and Kashyap Prajapati (3), Ilyas joined forces with Mohammed Nadeem and took the score to 51 runs before their partnership was cut short by Micheal Leask.
Leask drove Ilyas to crank the ball away in an attempt to clear long off but the ball landed straight into the palms of Munsey, sending him back to the pavilion.
Then came Oman skipper Zeeshan Maqsood who first took some time to settle while Nadeem kept the scoreboard ticking with regular singles and getting frequent boundaries. He followed suit with a couple of sixes before getting dismissed on 25 runs off 21 deliveries, leaving the skipper with a new batter.
Read More: ICC World T20 2021 – Round 1, Group B, Sco vs PNG – Berrington’s 70, Davey’s 4-18 help Scotland win
Zeeshan aspires respectable total
While Zeeshan Maqsood attempted to keep the innings afloat, he carted the ball thrice to the boundary and one over the rope in his 34-run knock. The middle order and tail enders barely had anything to offer, however, Fayyaz Butt did make a last attempt to push the scoreboard higher as he ensured the trajectory of the second-last ball of their innings took it straight beyond the ropes and Oman crossed 122 runs before getting bundled out within the stipulated 20 overs.
For Scotland, medium pacer Josh Davey picked 3/25, while Safyaan Sharif (2/25) and spinner Michael Leask (2/13) picked a couple of wickets each.
Scotland off to decent start
Chasing a modest total of 123 runs, Scotland got off to a decent start with both the openers George Munsey and skipper Kyle Coetzer batting with ease. They banked on regular singles, also finding boundaries beautifully coming off their bats in the first four overs.
However, Fayaz Butt struck for Oman in the 5th over and removed the good-looking Munsey for 20 runs.
Despite the first wicket loss, Scotland maintained a good run rate and aggregated 37 runs in the powerplay overs. That was followed by the Scotland skipper showing some class of his phenomenal batting comprising off two boundaries and three sixes in his 41-run knock. Unfortunately, he was dismissed in the 10th over with Oman finally getting their second breakthrough in the game.
The game became a one-sided affair when Scotland needed 48 runs off the last 10 overs with 8 wickets still in hand. And their batters present in the middle Matthew Cross (26* off 35 balls) and Richie Berington (31* off 21 balls) made no mistakes and took the side through to the next stage of the tournament.
Player of the match
The 31-year-old Josh Davey clinched the title of Player of the match following his three-wicket haul in the crucial game for Scotland.
Scotland maintained their winning streak in their group which would be the takeaway point for them as they move ahead in the tournament. While it was an upsetting loss for Oman as they exit from the tournament. Read More: ICC T20 World Cup 2021 – Round 1 - Shakib’s all-round hand (46, 4/9) takes Bangladesh to Super 12
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