Chris Greaves’ all-round performance helps Scotland stun Bangladesh

Bangladesh by six runs in Group B encounter of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup here at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground (Ministry Turf 1) on Sunday.

Chasing 141, Bangladesh did not get off to an ideal start as Josh Davey dismissed Soumya Sarkar (5) in the second over of the innings. Two overs later, Bradley Wheal removed Liton Das (5) and Bangladesh was reduced to 18/2 in the fourth over. Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim then got together at the crease and the duo put on 47 runs for the third wicket, but Scotland got the crucial breakthrough of Shakib (20) with Bangladesh still needing 76 more runs for the win. Chris Greaves then dismissed Mushfiqur (38) and Scotland gained complete control over the match.

Afif Hossain and skipper Mahmudullah then came together at the crease and put on 32 runs for the fifth wicket, but Scotland managed to maintain their cool to register a thrilling six-run victory.

Earlier, Mahedi Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan took five wickets among themselves as Bangladesh restricted Scotland to 140/9. Sent into bat, Scotland got off to a bad start as the side lost its skipper Kyle Coetzer (0) in just the third over of the innings. However, George Munsey and Matthew Cross managed to steady the innings and at the end of the powerplay overs, the score read 39/1.

Munsey and Cross put on 40 runs for the second wicket, however, Bangladesh stormed right back into the contest as Mahedi Hasan dismissed both Cross (11) and Munsey (29), reducing Scotland to 46/3 in the 8th over. Shakib Al Hasan then got into the act to dismiss Richie Berrington (2) and Michael Leask (0), reducing Scotland to 52/5 in the 11th over. In the final few overs, Mark Watt and Chris Greaves played knocks of 22 and 45 respectively as Scotland posted a total of more than the run mark.

Earlier in the day, Zeeshan Maqsood’s four-wicket haul was backed up by unbeaten knocks of 73 and 50 by opening batters Jatinder Singh and Aqib Ilyas to help Oman defeat Papua New Guinea by ten wickets.

Brief Scores: Scotland 140/9 (Chris Greaves 45, George Munsey 29, Mahedi Hasan 3-19); Bangladesh 134/7 (Mushfiqur Rahim 38, Mahmudullah 23, Bradley Wheal 3-24).