World T20 2016 Match 2 Review: Scotland go down fighting against Afghanistan

A determined Afghanistan team managed to overcome the challenging Scotland team who went down fighting to lose the 2nd match of the opening day by 14 runs at Nagpur. The high scoring match saw some great aggressive batting performance from both the sides.

Afghanistan captain Asghar Stanikzai won the toss and chose to bat. Openers Mohammad Shahzad and Noor Ali Zadran began the proceeding with Scotland starting with spin of Matt Watt. But, the left arm spinner was welcomed by Shahzad with a boundary through the covers. His partner Noor Ali Zadran got in the zone and struck a powerful six and four off back to back deliveries in the following over to give a blazing start. But the opening pair could not have a long impact as Matt Watt retaliated with the wicket of Zadran in the 3rd over to give the first blow to the Afghans.

Skipper Asghar Stanikzai then joined in the burly Shahzad and batted with dominance to put together a 82 runs stand for the 2nd wicket. Stanikzai opened his account with a six over deep mid-wicket. The duo mixed aggression with sensibility and waited for the bad balls to deliver the big blows. Shahzad, in particular batted with his natural instincts and raced to his 10th T20I half-century in just 32 balls. But, unfortunately, the right-hander, who idolizes MS Dhoni, fell in the very next over. It was off spinner Matt Watt once again who put an end to the party.

His departure had an effect on the Afghan run rate dried for a couple of overs. Stanikzai (55 from 50 balls) looked to be struggling to get the big hits in place in spite of being the set batsman. Middle order batsmen Gulbadin Naib (12 from 11) and Shafiqullah (12 from 5 balls) made handy contributions in the end to take Afghanistan to a commanding position of 170/5 after 20 overs eventually. The scoreboard could have seen a bigger total in the first innings but the Scottish team restricted the Afghans from getting loose with their great fielding work which resulted in two run outs during the crucial final phases.

Scotland seemed to be prepared for the challenge as openers George Munsey and Kyle Coetzer batted with intent and got off to a blistering start. After a quiet couple overs at the start, the duo began to hammer the Afghanistan bowlers without any hassle, dealing in fours and sixes. The run rate jumped over 10 after Munsey cracked three fours in the 4th over. The following over saw three more coming from his bat as Scotland rocketed past the 50 runs mark in just 5 overs. The duo turned the match very interesting but Afghanistan jumped back soon. Samiullah Shenwari brought the all-important breakthrough after he dismissed Coetzer in the 9 over to break the 84 run stand.

The balance shifted into Afghanistan team’s favor with this wicket as Scotland lost its course gradually. Scotland lost two more wickets in the next to overs. Munsey (41 from 29 balls) departed in the following over while Calum MacLeod was run out in the 10th overs. Leg spinner Rashid Khan then foxed Richie Barrington a couple of overs later as the Afghans tightened their grip over the match.

Matt Machan (36 from 31 balls) kept the hopes alive but his efforts weren’t enough in the end as Scotland ended up at 156/5, losing the match closely by 14 runs.

Brief Scores:

Afghansitan: 170/5 in 20 overs (Mohammad Shahzad 61; Alasdair Evan 1/24)

Scotland: 156/5 in 20 overs (George Munsey 41; Rashid Khan 2/28)

Man of the Match: Mohammad Shahzad (Afghanistan)