HOBART, Oct 17: Just 24 hours after Namibia kick-started the Men’s T20 World Cup with a stunning 55-run win over Sri Lanka, Scotland pulled off another major upset in the tournament with a shock 42-run victory over two-time champions West Indies in a Group B first round match at the Bellerive Oval on Monday.
After opener George Munsey carried his bat throughout the innings to slam an unbeaten 66 to help Scotland post an excellent 160/5, left-arm spinner Mark Watt led a fantastic bowling show with 3/12 to bowl out West Indies for 118 all out in 18.3 overs.
The Scottish bowlers were spot-on with their lengths and change in pace and forced the West Indies to hit towards the bigger areas of the stadium as only four batters reached double figures.
Chasing 161, West Indies were woeful with the bat and never had any rhythm or momentum at all. They were also confused over either hitting boundaries or rotating the strike as Watt and off-spinner Michael Leask (2/14) shared five wickets.
Scotland were also backed by their fielders being impressive on the field and took their catches well in the outfield. Kyle Mayers hit the first four boundaries of the West Indies chase, before flicking straight to mid-wicket off a slower ball from Josh Davey.
Also, all-rounder Sikandar Raza continued his glorious run in 2022 with a fantastic 82 off 48 balls while the bowlers, led by Blessing Muzarabani, Tendai Chatara and Richard Ngarava led Zimbabwe to a clinical 31-run over Ireland in a Group B first round match.
Zimbabwe made a winning comeback in their return to the tournament fold. After Raza’s 82 propelled Zimbabwe to a competitive 174/7, Muzarabani (3/24), Chatara (2/22) and Ngarava (2/22) restricted Ireland to 143/9 in 20 overs. (IANS)
