Scotland got a reality catch in their first match of Super 12 round as they were handed a massive 130-run defeat at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, which has been labelled as the batting paradise. Chasing a target of 191, Scotland batters did not know which way the ball will turn and got bundled out for 60 in just 10.2 overs.
Records tumble
This is Scotland's lowest total in the format. Also, it is joint fourth-lowest total in T20 World Cup history. Mujeeb ur Rahman took five wickets for 20 runs and became the seventh bowler in the history to take five wickets or more at the big stage. Afghanistan's first five-wicket haul holder in T20 World Cup now has the fifth best bowling figures in the tournament. This was the biggest T20I win for Afghanistan by runs. It is also the joint-second largest victory by runs in T20 World Cup. Nine of the Scotland were dismissed leg before wicket or bowled which is the highest ever in a T20I match. Only once in history of T20I cricket, five batters have got out lbw.
Mujeeb, Rashid's magic show
No matter which approach Scotland batters took, they just could not figure out the trajectory of the ball from the two high quality spinners. Bowling in the powerplay, Mujeeb cleaned up Scotland's top order getting four wickets in the powerplay overs. The unorthodox spinner spoiled Scotland's top start in the first few overs by removing George Munsey and skipper Kyle Coetzer. After the powerplay overs, Rashid Khan was introduced and he made short work of Scotland's sorry attempt of a run chase. In just 14 deliveries, Rashid got four wickets and conceded just nine runs. The star leg-spinner is now just one wicket from completing his 100 T20I wickets. As many as five Scotland batters got out without troubling the scorers which concludes Scotland's worse day with the bat in the ongoing tournament.
Big-hitting for Afghan batters
While the trend in the Super 12 stage has been win the toss, bowl first for most captains, Mohammad Nabi chose to bat first. The decision paid off as Afghanistan posted a daunting total of 190/4 including 11 sixes and 13 fours. They got off to a flier in the powerplay overs with openers Hazratullah Zazai and Mohammad Shahzad taking on the Scottish bowlers. While Shahzad got out for 15-ball 22 just before the completion of powerplay overs, Zazai missed his half-century by just six runs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz started off slowly but picked up the pace and scored 46 off 37 deliveries. Najibullah did the heavy lifting in the death overs and got to his half-century. The southpaw got out off the final delivery of the innings for a score of 59 off just 34 deliveries. Skipper Nabi too pitched in with 4-ball 11 cameo. The only positive for Scotland in the first innings was their left-arm spinner Mark Watt who conceded just 23 runs from four overs and took a wicket while other bowlers leaked boundaries.
