The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 got off to an incredible start with two Round One Group B fixtures providing immense entertainment. The evening fixture between Scotland and Bangladesh saw Scots stun Bangladesh by six runs in Oman on October 17.
Chris Greaves was the show-stealer as he put on an all-round masterclass. He smashed a crucial 45 off 28 when the team was down and out while batting first to take Scotland to a competitive total of 140/9. Greaves changed the game with the ball in hand as well, picking 2/19 in three overs.
As it happened, Bangladesh won the toss and decided to field first on a good batting surface. Their pacers started extremely well, not giving the batters any opportunities to score. The Scotsmen received the first blow in the third over as the skipper Kyle Coetzer was cleaned up by Mohammad Saifuddin on a seven-ball duck. Scotland managed only 39/1 in the powerplay overs.
Things went from bad to worse for the Scots as they suffered a collapse, losing five wickets for eight runs. It started with Mahedi Hasan trapping Matthew Cross LBW on 11 off 17 and then cleaning up George Munsey – who was looking good on 29 off 23 – in the same over. Shakib Al Hasan joined in the act to take two wickets in the 11th over. Mahedi bowled Calum McLeod in the next over to reduce Scotland to 53/6.
It was then Chris Greaves and Mark Watt offered some resistance. The duo added 51 runs for the seventh wicket before Watt (22 off 17) holed out at long-off in the 18th over. Greaves hammered Taskin Ahmed in the same over for two fours and a six, before he was dismissed off Mustafizur Rahman’s slower delivery for a fantastic 45.
Josh Davey and Safyaan Sharif hit a six each as Scotland reached 140-run mark. For Bangladesh, Mahedi Hasan was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/19. Shakib and Mustafizur also picked two wickets each.
Chasing 141, the Bangla tigers didn’t get to a start as both their openers played poor shots and were sent back on 18 runs inside four overs. The two Bangladeshi veterans Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim had a great responsibility on them. They had only 25 runs on the board at the end of the powerplay. The duo were slowly rebuilding the innings but falling too far behind the required run-rate.
Mushfiqur smashed Michael Leask for back to back sixes in the ninth over to bring the innings back on track. Shakib, on the other end, was stuck and playing a match-losing knock.
His misery ended in the 12th over as he holed out on the boundary rope off Greaves’ bowling on 20 off 28. Greaves knocked over Mushfiqur in his next over as the batter tried a fancy scoop. Bangladesh needed 66 off 41 balls – a doable equation but they were running out of the firepower. Afif Hossain scored a quickfire 18 off 12, with the equation reading 36 off the last three overs.
Hossain, Mahmudullah (23 off 22) and Nurul Hasan (2) were dismissed in the next two overs as Scotland took firm control over the match. Needing 24 off six balls, Mahedi and Saifuddin smashed three boundaries. Eventually, they fell short by six runs as the Scottish camp registered their second T20I win over Bangladesh in as many games.
Oman and Scotland occupy the top two spots in Group B after their victories. Bangladesh’s chances of advancing to the Super 12s have taken a huge hit, and they need to win their remaining two games.
Brief Scores
Scotland – 140/9 in 20 overs (Greaves 45, Munsey 29; Hasan 3/19, Al Hasan 2/17)
Bangladesh – 134/7 in 20 overs (Rahim 38, Mahmudullah 23; Wheal 3/23, Greaves 2/19)
