Afghanistan and Scotland are locking horns in the fifth match of the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup 2021 in Sharjah. Both teams will try to begin this stage with a victory under their belt.
Afghanistan skipper Mohammad Nabi won the toss and opted to bat first.
Also Read: Afghanistan will play with their flag in T20 World Cup 2021
Mohammad Shahzad and Hazratullah Zazai provided Afghanistan with a blistering start. The duo added 54 runs for the opening wicket before the former got out to Safyaan Sharif. Zazai scored 44 runs before getting out to Mark Watt.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Najibullah Zadran, then, put a display of power-hitting. Gurbaz got out after scoring 46 while Najibullah (59) registered a well-paced fifty to help Afghanistan’s total to 190/4 in 20 overs.
In response, Scotland openers George Munsey and Kyle Coetzer came out with all guns blazing. They started the run chase with a flurry of boundaries until Mujeeb Ur Rahman turned the match on its head with a three-wicket over. All of the sudden, Scotland went from 28/0 to 28/3 in 4 overs.
Mathew Cross walked out to partner with Munsey. Naveen-ul-Haq was handed the ball by Nabi and he dismissed Cross for a golden duck. Rashid Khan was asked to bowl and he instantly took wickets as well. Whatever Nabi did was turning into the right call.
Mujeeb completed his fifer and ended the match with figures of 5/21 in 4 overs. Rashid Khan also joined the party and grabbed four wickets for 9 runs in 2.2 overs. Scotland got bundled out for 60 in 10.2 overs. Afghanistan registered a huge victory by 130 runs.
Also Read: Afghanistan’s participation left Tim Paine unhappy
Afghanistan broke several records during the match. They first recorded their highest team total of T20Is before winning the game by the biggest margin of their T20I history.
See how Twitter reacted to this game;
Not our day today.
Congratulations to @ACBofficials and to @Mujeeb_R88 and @rashidkhan_19 on outstanding spells.
We go again on Wednesday.#FollowScotland 🏴 | #PurpleLids 🟣 pic.twitter.com/fV1IpIiA7Y
— Cricket Scotland (@CricketScotland) October 25, 2021
Turned out to be a dud contest tonight. First Scotland’s bowlers clouted for 190 by Afghan batsmen, then Scotland batsmen clueless against Mujeeb and Rashid, losing match by a whopping 130 runs. India and NZ in this group will keep a concerned eye on Afghanistan’s progress & NRR
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) October 25, 2021
The Afghanistan everybody loves #AFGvSCO #T20WorldCup
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) October 25, 2021
Powerhouse display by Afghanistan. Played the perfect T20 game. Big runs on the board with Najibullah in the forefront and an oustanding spell from the unplayable Mujeeb. Five wickets in four overs; bravo! #AFGvSCO #T20WorldCup
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) October 25, 2021
Remember when we said that England's NRR being +3.97 was worth an extra win? Well, Afghanistan's is +6.5. #T20WorldCup #AFGvSCO
— Ben Jones (@benjonescricket) October 25, 2021
What a performance Afghanistan! This team has some serious match winners, quality batters and world-class spinners. Top work Mujeeb, this team can surely cause a lot of trouble for major teams especially in UAE conditions.
— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) October 25, 2021
Afghanistan batters on 🔥🔥🔥 today
Biggest sixes in #AFGvSCO game so far #T20WorldCup
Zazai – 101 M
Zadran – 100 M
Zazai – 98 M
Gurbaz – 97 M
Gurbaz – 87 Mhttps://t.co/BLerhRKmeG pic.twitter.com/5MS34lVNLR— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) October 25, 2021
Scotland the bemused. 46-7 #ICCT20WorldCup2021 pic.twitter.com/bMYcL2PIlu
— simon hughes (@theanalyst) October 25, 2021
