Scotland's hard-hitting opener George Munsey wreaked havoc on Austrian bowlers in ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier 2023. Munsey smashed 132 runs from just 61 deliveries to help Scotland post their fourth-highest total in T20I cricket.
Austrian skipper Razamal Shigiwal won the toss and opted to field first at Goldenacre, Edinburgh on July 25. Munsey made his intentions known in the first over itself. She hit three consecutive fours off Amit Nathwani in the 15-run over. In the fifth over, Munsey's hard-hitting helped Scotland cross the 50-run mark. Interstingly, his opening partner Ollie Hairs had played just three balls and scored two runs in the partnership.
Munsey got to his half-century in the fifth over from just 22 balls. Hairs finally got his chance to play few attacking shots as he hit two fours and one six off Jaweed Sadran's bowling. Munsey used the fielding restrictions well and hit Shahil Momin for four consecutive fours in the sixth over. Scotland were 88/0 after powerplay overs.
The opening partnership was broken in the seventh over. Abdullah Akbarjan got the wicket of Hairs who contributed with a 12-ball 23 in the 96-run partnership off just 42 balls. Austrian bowlers were able to stop the flow of boundaries from ninth to 11th over. Munsey got to his century from just 50 balls in the 14th over. This was left-handed batter’s second T20I century. Munsey shifted gears after getting to his century. Umair Tariq felt the brunt of it as Munsey smashed with for three sixes and one four in the 14th over.
Munsey had a chance to break the record for highest T20I individual score that belongs to former Australian captain Aaron Finch (172 vs Zimbabwe). But Akbarjan once again broke the partnership. In the 17th over, Munsey got out leg before wicket. His 61-ball 132 was studded with 15 fours and six sixes. When he got out, Scotland's score was 187/2. Richie Berrington's 19-ball 40 helped Scotland post 232/2.
However, this is not the fastest T20I century for Scotland. The record belongs to Munsey only. In 2019, he smashed a 41-ball 100 against Netherlands in Dublin.
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