Scotland have one leg in the Super 12 stage with a 17-run victory over an inexperienced Papua New Guinea in their second match of Group B. Chasing 166, PNG lost too many wickets in the middle overs to give them a chance to get close to the target. With two wins in their first two games, Scotland have solidified their chance to go through to the Super 12s stage considering their net run rate.
Berrington leads the way
Scotland lost their openers early in powerplay overs once again but wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Cross and Richard Berrington took charge of the innings. The duo shared a 92-run partnership for the third wicket laying a platform for a challenging total against PNG. While Cross missed his half-century by five runs and got out in the 15th over, Berrington did the big hitting for his team and scored 70 runs from 49 deliveries including six fours and three sixes. The right-handed batter got out in the penultimate over but by then Scotland had crossed the 150-run mark.
Batting collapse in death overs
Scotland lost six wickets in just 11 deliveries in death overs spoiling their chance of posting a big total. The collapse started in the penultimate over with veteran Calum MacLoed’s wicket. In the same over, Scotland lost their sat batter Berrington too. However, it was the last over that turned out be absolute chaotic for the Scottish. Kyle Coetzer-led Scotland lost four wickets in the last over and scored just eight runs including a six. On the last three deliveries, Scotland lost three consecutive wickets. It was not a hat-trick though for Kabua Morea as one of them was a run out. Nevertheless, Morea ended up with three wickets in the last over of the innings where he got the wicket of last match hero Chris Greaves and the tailenders.
Davey gets crucial wickets
While Berrington scored 70 in the first innings, Josh Davey turned out to be the difference between the two teams. The fast bowler’s first scalp was PNG opener Tony Ura in his first over of the innings. He got another wicket in the powerplay overs to push PNG on the back foot. The fast bowler returned to bowl in the death overs and got the wicket of set batter Norman Vanua, who was batting on 47. His fourth wicket came in the last over when he was defending 24 runs. He was economical too, conceding just 18 runs from 3.3 overs.
