Chris Greaves was the hero as Scotland kicked off their T20 World Cup campaign with a dream start with a six-race win over Bangladesh in Muscat.
The 31-year-old off-roader, in just his second T20 international match, set his team’s best in 140 of nine and then took two crucial wickets with his leg spinning as Scotland held tight to a tense finish.
“We were in a difficult situation, obviously,” Greaves told Sky Sports. “Was a [a case of] rebuild the entrances at that stage and see where we could go from there. It was incredible that I could be that person, being a part of that is incredible.
“I think it was my day. There will be many other days when any of us on that team can be a part of it. I’m so glad I was able to contribute what I did. “
At bat, Scotland was reeling 53-of-six in the 12th-plus before Greaves added 51 runs with Mark Watt, who hit 22 of 17, for a respectable total that proved to be enough for a surprising result. of T20 victories against Australia and New Zealand, they entered the game as favorites to win the group and it looked like they were on their way when Scotland lost their captain Kyle Coetzer to a duck in the third over, thrown by Mohammad Saifuddin.
George Munsey, who hit two sixes in his 29s, and Matthew Cross stabilized innings with a 40-run partnership on second field before both died in a Mahedi Hasan over.
Richie Berrington, whose century helped the Scots beat Bangladesh in their only previous encounter, fell cheap when he was caught in the Shakib Al Hasan, who also knocked out Michael Leask for a duck.
Greaves then came to the rescue, hitting two sixes and four fours on his 28-ball hit to bring Scotland back to the competition.
Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan became the biggest wicket recipient in T20I men, surpassing Lasith Malinga’s total of 107 wickets. The left arm spinning bowling all-rounder is the first player in T20I to score 1,000 runs and take 100 wickets and was just beginning to flow with the bat when he became Greaves’ first victim.
Greaves then eliminated the dangerous Mushfiqur Rahim by 38 and finished with two by 19, while Brad Wheal claimed three of 24. Needing 24 in the last over, Saifuddin and Mahedic combined by two four and six against Safyaan Sharif, but could not beat his side. the line.
In the opening match of the tournament, Oman achieved a 10-wicket victory at home against Papua New Guinea in Al Amerat. Having opted to hit, Papua New Guinea never recovered from losing both starters in the first over without a run on the board.
A brave 56 captain, Assad Vala, helped his team escape total embarrassment, but four wickets of the left arm swing of his opposite number Zeeshan Maqsood helped limit the Papuans’ total to a measly 129 by nine.
Oman, who scored a memorable victory against Ireland in their only previous campaign at the T20 World Cup in 2016, would finally reach their goal without losing a wicket.
Jatinder Singh reached 11 limits, including four sixes on his 73 shot, while teammate Aqib Ilyas reached his half century when the hosts closed out the victory with 38 balls remaining.
The emphatic nature of Oman’s victory also means a healthy net run rate that could come into play later in their opening games of the group stage.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism