Scotland stunned Bangladesh by six runs in Round 1 of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 at Oman Cricket Academy on Sunday. A memorable victory to remember for a long time for Scotland Cricket. With this win, they have fancied their chances for the Super 12s.
Chris Greaves – Remember the name
Batting first, Scotland was reduced at 53 for six in the 12th over before Greaves added 51 runs with Mark Watt (22 off 17 balls) and took Scotland to a respectable total of 140. Although 141 wasn’t a safe score on the flat surface of Al Amerat Cricket ground, Scotland bowlers fought hard and made a terrific comeback.
In response, Bangladesh was able to score 134/7 in 20 overs and fell short by 6 runs of the target. Chris Greaves produced one of the greatest all-around performances in the history of the T20 World Cup. With the bat, he smashed 28-ball 45 got them out of the woods of 53 for 6, and then took the vitals wickets of Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim. Greaves returned with excellent figures of 2/19 in three overs and was named Player of the match.
“I am really proud of Greaves,” Coetzer ( Scotland Captain) said. “He really sacrificed a lot. He was delivering parcels for Amazon not too long ago, and now is getting Player of the Match against Bangladesh. I am not sure if he will appreciate me saying this. Seeing the performance from Mark Watt and Chris Greaves with the bat today, they are lesser-known people who had to make many sacrifices to get to where they are today.
“Greaves isn’t a contracted player in Scotland. He was on the fringes. He put his hand up, worked extremely hard, and put himself in the picture. Going back a month, he wouldn’t even start in one of these games. Look at what he has done. It is just proof in the pudding that there are some quality players around Associate cricket. They just need the platform to show it.”
Records Broken
1. This is Scotland’s second win in a World Cup, the first coming in the 2016 edition of the tournament against Hong Kong.
2. Shakib Al Hasan(108) became the leading wicket-taker in Twenty20 internationals.
3. Scotland now has a 100% record against Bangladesh in T20Is.
4. Mark Watt completed 50 T20I wickets, becoming the second Scotland bowler to achieve this milestone.
5. Mahedi Hasan registered his best figures in T20Is (3/19 in 4 overs).
