Published 15:39 IST, October 17th 2022
T20 World Cup 2022: Scotland pull off a giant-killing act, shock two-time champions West Indies
Scotland dished out a perfect all-round display to stun two-time champions West Indies by 42 runs in a rain-interrupted Group B fixture of the T20 World Cup here on Monday.
Scotland dished out a perfect all-round display to stun two-time champions West Indies by 42 runs in a rain-interrupted Group B fixture of the T20 World Cup here on Monday.
Invited to bat, Scotland put on a challenging 160 for five on the back of opener George Munsey's sparkling unbeaten 66 off 53 balls, which was studded with nine fours.
The Scots then defended the total in style as West Indies, the most successful side in the T20 World Cup, looked a shadow of their past and folded for 118 in 18.3 overs.
West Indies now must win their next match against Zimbabwe on Wednesday to remain in contention for the Super 12 stage.
The Richie Berrington-led side, on the other hand, need a win against European rivals Ireland to qualify for the Super 12 stage.
"We haven't had as many T20 games as we would have liked but have played a lot of 50-overs cricket. It was about transferring those skills to the short form," Berrington said.
Hailing their spinners effort, he added: "They have done it for us in key moments. Watt started off well and always picks up the key wickets. Leask bowled his fours over well on the trot, too." Disappointed at the loss, Windies skipper Nicholas Pooran said: "We have to work hard and win two games. We have to take accountability and responsibility." A 20-minute rain stoppage also aided Scotland's cause as the conditions become slower at the at Bellerive Oval.
Left-arm spinner Mark Watt opened the bowling and returned with match-winning figures of 4-0-12-3, while off-spinner Michael Leask also bowled a tidy 2/15 from his full quota of overs.
Chasing a target of 161 on slow conditions proved to be a tall task for the Pooran-led side that did not have much depth and missed the big-hitting Shimron Hetmyer in the middle.
Opener Kyle Mayers gave the Windies a perfect start -- 20 off 13 balls with three fours and one six. But a superb running catch by Scotland's batting star Munsey at deep midwicket brought an end to to the fiery start inside the third over.
The other Windies opener Brandon King (17 off 15 balls) also perished inside the power-play exposing the Windies batting depth early on.
Skipper Pooran then fell to off-spinner Leask's guile as the Windies looked in real trouble at 69/5 at the midway stage before all-rounder Jason Holder provided some late sparks (38; 33b, 4x4, 1x6) which proved insufficient.
Earlier, opener Munsey gave Scotland a brisk start in the power-play when they raced to 54 runs without losing a wicket.
But a 20-minute rain stoppage unsettled their rhythm as the Windies returned to reduce them to 86/3 inside 12 overs.
However, Munsey held the fort to unleash his fury at the death and finish on a high as they scored 38 runs from the last four overs.
On Sunday, Namibia pulled off the first giant killing act in the tournament, shocking former champions Sri Lanka by 55 runs.
Updated 15:39 IST, October 17th 2022