(Cricket news) The ICC men’s T20 World Cup started on a positive note for Scotland as it recorded a victory over Bangladesh in the Group B match. It was the second match of the event as Oman had earlier beaten Papua New Guinea. Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bowl first as the pitch looked bowler friendly.
The Scotland batters had a slow start as Mohammad Saifuddin bowled opener and captain Kyle Coetzer for a duck in the third over. Mahedi Hasan then trapped Matthew Cross for an lbw and then was right on target when George Munsey missed the ball to find his bails on the ground. Shakib Al Hasan and Mahedi applied the brakes as the runs were coming in slow until Chris Greaves walked in at the crease.
The 31 year old was playing his second match for Scotland and was a lifesaver as he top scored with 45 from 28 balls as Mark Watt played a 17 ball 22 as the innings ended with two wickets in the last over by Mustafizur Rahman. The Bangladeshi bowlers did their role as the target was set at 141 in 20 overs.
The Bangladeshi batters also started slowly as the openers failed to get going on the run chase. Shakib Al Hasan once again scored for Bangladesh as Mushfiqur Rahim played a slow innings to repair some damage but Greaves continued his form in the match as he took both the experienced players in successive overs. There was still time for the team to chase the target as captain Mahmudullah tried to keep the scoreboard ticking as he fell to Bradley Wheal which put Scotland in the driver's seat.
Just when the captain departed, the Bangladesh batters needed 24 runs from the last over as Mahedi and Saifuddin scored 17 runs to end the match in bitter disappointment. Scotland has two points now and will play their next match against Papua New Guinea tomorrow. Shakib Al Hasan ended the match as the highest wicket taker in T20 internationals when he took Michael Leask’s wicket for his 108th scalp in his 89th match, he overtook Lasith Malinga who had 107 wickets in 84 matches. Mark Watt also had a milestone in the match as he took his 50th wicket in T20 internationals.
Scotland 140/9 in 20 overs, Bangladesh 134/7 in 20 overs. Scotland beat Bangladesh by 6 runs.
Also read: Ludhiana-born Jatinder stars in Oman's 10-wkt victory over Papua New Guinea
