Pakistan finished their Super 12 matches in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup with a 72-run win over Scotland at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium here on Sunday. After Babar Azam (66 off 47 balls), Shoaib Malik (54 not out off 18 balls) and Mohammad Hafeez (31 off 19 balls) took Pakistan to 189/4, Pakistan restricted Scotland to 117/6 in 20 overs.
The men in green with five straight wins top the table. Image: Twitter - @T20WorldCup
Abu Dhabi:
George Munsey began by taking two boundaries off Shaheen Shah Afri'i's first two overs. Kyle Coetzer had a boundary off Imad Wasim but was bowled by Hasan Ali in a wicket-maiden final over of Power-play. Post Power-play runs began to dry as Pakistan began to exert pressure on Scotland.
Scotland were dealt with a strong blow as Matthew Cross was run-out at the non-striker's end with Wasim getting a hand on the ball on a straight drive from Munsey. In an attempt to break free, Munsey tried to attack Shadab Khan but sliced to short third man in the 11th over. Two balls later, Khan had another wicket as Dylan Budge was bowled by a googly.
Though the result was a foregone conclusion, Scotland tried to delay the inevitable. Michael Leask had a 41-run stand with Richie Berrington for the fifth wicket. The partnership broke when Afridi clean bowled Leask in the 16th over.
Berrington, the lone warrior for Scotland, smashed two more boundaries and reached his half-century with a brace off Ali. But it wasn't enough as Pakistan ended their Group 2 campaign with an all-win record.
Brief scores: Pakistan 189/4 in 20 overs (Babar Azam 66, Shoaib Malik 54 not out, Chris Greaves 2-43, Hamza Tahir 1-24) beat Scotland 117/6 (Richie Berrington 54 not out, George Munsey 17, Shadab Khan 2-14, Shaheen Shah Afridi 1-24) by 72 runs
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