Twitter Reactions: Rain denies Scotland a golden opportunity as Afghanistan survive a scare

Two sides on the surge in International cricket, Scotland and Afghanistan pulled off a fantastic competition on Friday at Edinburgh. Yet, the game ended in an unfortunate manner as the DLS method very abruptly decided Afghanistan were the winners in a contest that was supposed to go down the wire. But that is what the rain gods wanted and no one can do anything about it.

Earlier in the day, Scotland very bravely decided to bat first on a track that offered a little too much to the batsmen. They got off to a decent start with Matthew Cross and Kyle Coetzer seeing off the new ball threat. They batted cautiously but added 76 runs for the opening stand before Cross fell prey to a brilliant trap set up by skipper Gulbadin Naib.

After his dismissal, two of Scotland’s most talented batsmen in Coetzer and Calum MacLeod got together to torment the Afghans. MacLeod, who previously registered a 146-ball 157 against Afghanistan in the World Cup qualifiers last year, once again put on a show. He smacked the bowlers right from the outset as the duo added 76 runs for the second wicket before Coetzer got dismissed for 79.

Unlike his captain, MacLeod stuck till the end to complete his century with the help of some cameos from the Scottish middle order. They finished their innings with a power-packed score of 325 runs losing seven wickets. Skipper Naib chipped in with figures of 3/72 for the visiting side, who barely had anything to celebrate in the first innings.

Rahmat Shah steers Afghanistan home

Hazratullah Zazai was dismissed early in this huge run chase, but Rahmat Shah and Mohammad Shahzad exhibited some class batting. Shahzad wasn’t exactly in the mood he always is, but he did register a crucial 55 off 67 balls and added 93 runs for the second wicket. Alasdair Evans provided this crucial breakthrough and brought the hosts back in the game.

Yet, things didn’t change for Coetzer’s troops as Rahmat Shah was joined by Hashmatullah Shahidi, who wasted no time while he was there. He helped Rahmat get a well-deserved century and completed his half-century in the process. After a brilliant 115-ball 113, just when he was beginning to accelerate, Rahmat was sent back to the pavilion, putting an end to a 109-run stand.

One good thing the visiting side did was to ensure the required rate never crept out of their reach. They managed to get close to the winning mark at 269/3 in 44.5 overs with former skipper Asghar Afghan playing a decent cameo. But then, the rain gods interrupted and play was not possible after that. By the skin of their teeth, Afghanistan were ahead on DLS method and won the game by 2 runs after the officials said no more play was possible. While the visiting team won the 2-match series 1-0, Rahmat Shah was awarded the player of the match award.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to this heartbreaking result for the Scottish:

Congrats to all afghans especially to @GbNaib. #SCOvAFG pic.twitter.com/XPkbSma4oW

— Gul Rahman Nikmal🇦🇫 (@grnikmal) May 10, 2019

Real man of the match for me – Play your first international game in nearly 3 years and come out with figures of 2-55 from ten overs when the opposition finishes with a score of 325. Class never fails. Warrior Hamid Hassan💥💥 #SCOvAFG pic.twitter.com/w6W9sRvXhT

— Karthik Raj (@kartcric) May 10, 2019

Scotland , DLS , losing by one or two runs. Seen it before ? Yup. 😑🙄 #CWCQ #SCOvAFG #SCOvWI https://t.co/utWQNsyQWS

— Anish (@Anish59898839) May 10, 2019

It's really sad that we don't see Calum Macleod more often in International cricket. #SCOvAFG

— Johns (@CricCrazyJohns) May 10, 2019

💯 for @RahmatShah_08 his fourth in ODI cricket 👏 @ACBofficials#SCOvAFG pic.twitter.com/dGYgqU4ofd

— Nasrullah Mansoor (@NasrullhMansoor) May 10, 2019

#Afghanistan won by two runs #SCOvAFG First match of @GbNaib Captaincy Congrats to all Afghanistan's people@CricketScotland @ACBofficials @MohammadNabi007 @rashidkhan_19 @hardikpandya7 @hamidhassanHH #AfghanAtalan

— Anayat Afghan (@antafghan) May 10, 2019

Afghanistan playing their 112th ODI match today but the first without Mohammad Nabi in the playing XI! #SCOvAFG

— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) May 10, 2019

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