Afghanistan began their ICC T20 World Cup 2021 campaign in a dominant way as they crushed Scotland by 130 runs in a Group 2 fixture at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on October 25.
Afghanistan’s Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Najibullah Zadran produced a spectacular display of power-hitting as they put 190/4 on the board on a difficult batting wicket. Mujeeb Ur Rahman then ripped through the Scottish top order before Rashid Khan finished things off to bundle the opposition to 60 in 10.2 overs.
Afghanistan won the toss, and contrary to the tournament’s trend, they decided to bat first. Their openers proved the decision right as they added 54 runs in just 5.4 overs. Mohammad Shahzad, who sent the first ball into the stands, walked back on 22 off 15 as he was holed out at deep midwicket off Safyaan Sharif. Zazai, with a brilliant 44 off 30 balls, including three fours and as many sixes, was cleaned up by Mark Watt in the 10th over.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz started slowly and at one stage was on 23 off 27 before he took on his favourable match-ups. Najibullah Zadran, at the other end, was flying right from the outset. The duo added 87 runs in 8.4 overs before Gurbaz was caught at mid-off on 46 off 37, in which he smashed four sixes.
Zadran smashed unbeaten 59 off just 34, including five fours and three sixes, while Mohammad Nabi with a small cameo of 4-ball-11* took Afghanistan to the 190-run mark. For Scotland, Safyaan Sharif was the pick of the bowler with his 2/33, while Mark Watt was the most economical with 1/23 in his four.
Chasing a mountain of a target, Scotland got off to a good start, scoring 27 runs in three overs. But things changed drastically as Mujeeb Ur Rahman struck thrice in the next over to suck the life out of Scotland’s chase. Kyle Coetzer (10) was the first victim as a full delivery zipped through his bat and pad to castle the stumps.
The very next ball, Mujeeb trapped Calum McLeod right in front of the stumps. He trapped Richie Berrington on the last ball of the over for a three-ball duck. Scotland would have felt hard done as both the LBW decisions stayed umpire’s call after reviewing.
Matthew Cross was the next to fall as he edged Naveen-ul-Haq delivery to the keeper for a golden duck. In the next over, George Munsey swept Mujeeb for a six but was bowled on the next ball for 25 off 18. Scotland’s half the side was back in the hut even before Rashid Khan came into the attack. Rashid trapped Michael Leask LBW on his third ball. Mujeeb then castled Mark Watt in the next over to complete his five-wicket haul. Chris Greaves (12) was the next victim, struck on pads off Rashid’s googly. Later on, dismissed Davey and Brad Wheal to close the innings.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman was named the ‘player of the match’ for his 5/20 in four overs. Khan finished with 4/9 in 2.2 overs. Afghanistan climbed to the top of Group 2 with a massive net run-rate of +6.500.
Scotland will take on Namibia in their game on October 27 at Abu Dhabi, while Afghanistan will face Pakistan on October 29 in Dubai.
Brief Scores
Afghanistan – 190/4 in 20 overs (Zadran 59*, Gurbaz 46; Sharif 2/33, Watt 1/23)
Scotland – 60 all-out in 10.2 overs (Munsey 25; Ur Rahman 5/20, Khan 4/9)
