2nd Match, First Round Group B
Afghanistan 170/5 (20/20 ov)
Scotland 156/5 (20/20 ov)
Afghanistan won by 14 runs
Afghanistan stretched their T20I record against Scotland to 6-0. The 14-run win was facilitated by their belligerent opener Mohammad Shahzad and a spin-heavy attack that helped them defend 170. Scotland were well on course in the chase after George Munsey and Kyle Coetzer wiped off 84 in under nine overs, but the Afghanistan spinners dismissed the openers and then strangled the middle order to throw the chase off track.
Scotland needed 77 runs from the half-way mark with eight wickets in hand, but the Afghanistan spinners lived up to their captain's decision of batting first to allow the slower bowlers to do their work later, on a surface that played into their hands. The win may have helped Afghanistan bury memories of their Asia Cup opening-match loss to UAE in Mirpur last month.
Shahzad started in his usual aggressive fashion and overcame some improvised bowling from the Scotland pacers in the Powerplay to cut loose later on. Shahzad and Noor Ali Zadran provided a flying start by putting on 25 in under three overs before Noor Ali steered a short ball straight to third man. Shahzad followed that by targeting the leg-side and straight boundaries to race towards a 32-ball fifty, his ninth in T20Is.
Scotland bowled 15 boundary-less balls after Asghar Stanikzai's second-ball six, but could not build on the momentum as Shahzad used his brute force to strike three sixes within four balls to accelerate the innings again. Stanikzai was more subdued at the other end, but it worked only till Shahzad was unbeaten. Shahzad injected the run rate with more fuel in the 13th over with two fours off left-arm spinner Mark Watt, but fell on the third attempt when he miscued one high and down the ground.
Watt targeted the stumps from wide of the crease and Safyaan Sharif didn't offer much pace to make Afghanistan lose a bit of steam. Afghanistan stuttered by losing Gulbadin Naib and Mohammad Nabi in quick succession before Shafiqullah found the boundary thrice towards the end. Stanikzai and Dawlat then collected 15 from the last over to finish with a flourish. Had Stanikzai not struggled with timing during his 50-ball 55, Afghanistan would have perhaps ended with a bigger score.
Scotland muscled their way to a start more powerful than Afghanistan's. Munsey and Coetzer took only two overs to set their eyes in and started collecting boundaries at will thereafter. While Coetzer set things up with a four and a six in the third over, Munsey deflated the Afghanistan attack by hammering six fours in the next two overs. He exhibited crunchy drives and perfectly-timed flicks to first take on the experienced Dawlat Zadran and then Naib, to take the team total to 60 in the Powerplay. Change of bowlers and tactics barely changed the scenario as the duo welcomed legspinner Rashid Khan with nine runs.
Afghanistan finally got a reason to celebrate in the ninth over when Coetzer top-edged the most innocuous half-tracker of the day to deep square leg to end the 84-run stand. The spinners saw a small opening and stuck their necks through it. Rashid trapped Munsey lbw with a googly two balls later and Calum MacLeod slipped in the middle of a mix-up to be run-out for 2, that saw Scotland slip from 84 for 0 to 94 for 3 within a space of nine balls.
With the spinners doing the trick, captain Stanikzai brought back left-arm spinner Amir Hamza, who stemmed the flow of runs as Rashid had Richie Berrington stumped for 8. The gap between runs required and balls widened to 20 now and stump-to-stump lines from the spinners stretched it further to push the required rate above 10 per over.
Matt Machan tried to keep his side in the hunt but ended up facing 25 balls without a boundary. When he struck a straight six in the 18th over, the asking rate had shot up and wickets in hand could also not save Scotland.
1st Match, First Round Group B
Zimbabwe 158/8 (20/20 ov)
Hong Kong 144/6 (20/20 ov)
Zimbabwe won by 14 runs
Vusi Sibanda's first T20I fifty and Elton Chigumbura's audacious finishing ensured Zimbabwe had enough runs to beat Hong Kong, although they will be disappointed in an all-round messy performance. Three run-outs stunted what should have been a more imposing total, and loose bowling and fielding, and a gutsy Hong Kong chase could have easily pulled the carpet out from under them.
Jamie Atkinson's career-best 53 held Hong Kong's innings together but he battled against a constantly rising required rate which ballooned from a shave under eight to more than 13 with five overs left. With Zimbabwe's slower bowlers struggling for control, Hong Kong were in it until almost the end, when the task proved just a little too much.
Zimbabwe could have made it a much more comprehensive result with a better batting performance. They were plagued by lack of partnerships and soft dismissals, which started with the casualness of their captain.
Hamilton Masakadza gave himself an over to get his eye in and then unleashed two fours and a six off seamer Haseeb Amjad. His innings, however, met a farcical end when he failed to ground his bat or his foot after setting off for a quick single. Babar Hayat nailed a direct hit from mid-off to catch Hamilton short. Sibanda, who had faced only one of the first 14 balls, took over from where Hamilton left off. Richmond Mutumbami, however, holed out to long-on for a three-ball duck.
On a sticky pitch, Hong Kong's captain Tanwir Afzal sensed Zimbabwe's hurry and slowed them down. Sean Williams was particularly fidgety and fell when he attempted a cut and played on. Sikandar Raza was run-out in the next over, after Sibanda insisted on a second run, and Zimbabwe were left in trouble at 62 for 4 in 7.5 overs.
Sibanda, though, knuckled down and built a steady partnership with Malcolm Waller. They were cautious against seamer Aizaz Khan and Ryan Campbell whose contribution was crucial in pulling Zimbabwe back from a score that seemed headed towards 170 or more. Hong Kong conceded just 38 runs in the next six overs before Sibanda slammed left-arm spinner Nadeem Ahmed down the ground to raise his fifty off 40 balls.
Sibanda showed signs of cutting loose, but just as his partnership with Waller seemed set to take off, it ended. Waller gave a gift to sweeper cover, trying to clear the boundary, and then both Sibanda and Donald Tiripano were dismissed. Hong Kong took three wickets in eight balls to leave Zimbabwe wobbling again.
Elton Chigumbura, however, teed off early. He hit the ball cleanly and down the ground, slapping 30 off 13 balls to take Zimbabwe past 150. Ultimately, Chigumbura's cameo turned out to be the difference after Hong Kong put up an impressive fight. Campbell and Atkinson started slowly in the chase against the discipline of Zimbabwe's seamers. The slow-burn approach backfired when Campbell hit Tiripano straight to mid-on. Atkinson could have been removed an over later, on 10, had Sibanda not misjudged a catch at deep midwicket off Wellington Masakadza.
Wellington then had some reward when he trapped Babar Hayat in front but his joy was short-lived. He was attacked by Mark Chapman, who also went after Raza. But the allrounder had the last laugh when Chapman hit him to deep midwicket with Sibanda redeeming himself.
Atkinson, however, went on to bring up his maiden T20I half-century off 41 balls with a crunch down the ground off Tendai Chatara. Although Hong Kong needed 53 off the last four overs, they would have felt they had a chance.
Zimbabwe brought back their seamers to finish things off. Tiripano rewarded his captain when he deceived Atkinson with a slower ball that he hit to long-on. But the threat from Hong Kong was only properly diffused in the penultimate over with a Chatara double-strike. His hat-trick ball was a beamer, which went for four, an indication of Zimbabwe's sloppy performance. They sealed the win, but will be mindful of the need to tighten up to stay on top of the group.
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