After more than two-and-a-half-year, T20I cricket saw a tied match on last night. It was the fourth T20I match of the tri-series between Scotland and Ireland at Deventer on Sunday where Scotland scored 185/4 in 20 overs and Ireland replied with the same total (185/6) at the end of the 20 overs.

Scotland decided to bat first after winning the toss. The top-order batsmen performed very well as they set for a good total on the board. Openers George Munsey and the skipper Kyle Coetzer scored 46 and 54 runs respectively while the no.3 batsman Calum MacLeod played an unbeaten 46-run knock too. These innings helped the team to put a total of 185/4 at the end of 20 overs.

Among the Irish bowlers, Simi Singh (1/34), George Dockrell (1/36) and Barry McCarthy (1/51) got one wicket each.

In reply, while the top-order batsmen departed early, opener Paul Stirling played a responsible knock. While Simi Singh (26 runs), skipper Gary Wilson (20 runs) and Kevin O’Brien (28 runs) played important supporting roles, Stirling scored 81 runs.

In the final over, Ireland needed 7 runs to victory with 5 wickets in hands. While Kevin O’Brien was set on the pitch, pacer Safyaan Sharif dismissed him on the first ball of that over. In the end, Sharif held the nerve as Ireland tied the game by scoring two runs on the final ball of the match.

Sharif (2/31) and Stuart Whittingham (2/33) grabbed two wickets each while Hamza Tahir (1/43) and Richie Berrington (1/10) picked up one wicket each.

Brief Scores: Scotland – 185/4 in 20 overs (Kyle Coetzer 54, George Munsey 46; Simi Singh 1/34)

Ireland – 185/6 in 20 overs (Paul Stirling 81, Kevin O’Brien 28; Safyaan Sharif 2/31)

Result – Match tied

Important stats highlights of the match:

• 10th tied game in T20I history. It was the first T20I tied game for both Scotland and Ireland.
• 185/4 was the second highest T20I total for Scotland. Their record is 189/3 (20 overs) against Hong Kong at Abu Dhabi on January 14, 2017.
• Three Scottish batsmen scored 40+ runs in their innings. In the T20I history, it was the first time when more than two Scottish batsmen scored 40 or more runs in an innings.
• Ireland opening batsman Paul Stirling scored 81 runs in that game. It is the highest individual knock by an Ireland batsman in T20I history. The previous record was 79 runs by Paul Stirling against Afghanistan at Dubai (DSC) on March 24, 2012.
• 185/6 was the second highest T20I total for Ireland in the second batting. The record is 205 (19.2 overs) against Afghanistan at Greater Noida on March 12, 2017.