Australia saw off a determined challenge from Scotland to claim a five-wicket victory in a decisive final Group B match of the ICC T20 World Cup for both teams at the Daren Sammy Stadium in Saint Lucia on Saturday.
Replying to the Scots’ 180-5, their highest total in a T20 World Cup match, half-centuries from Travis Head (68 off 49 balls, with five fours and four sixes) and Marcus Stoinis (59 off 29 balls, with nine fours and two sixes) paced them to the target and a 100 percent winning record in the group with two balls to spare.
Tim David’s unbeaten 24 off 14 balls finished the job to lift Australia to 186-5, but he needed a generous slice of luck when dropped at deep midwicket before finishing off the match with a huge six in the same direction off the next ball from seamer Brad Wheal.
Photo: AP
That result eliminated Scotland and enabled title-holders England, winners earlier in the day over Namibia in Antigua, to qualify for the Super Eights phase alongside their archrivals as they had a better net run rate than Scotland.
“The plan was the usual: Get yourself in, play shots along the ground and then take it from there,” said Man of the Match Stoinis in explaining the strategy through his innings and the 80-run fourth-wicket partnership with Head.
“I was just trying to keep him there, keep him batting and it turned the game, even though he got out in the end,” Stoinis said.
Earlier, Brandon McMullen led the Scottish effort with a top score of 60 off 34 balls (with two fours, six sixes) after they were put in.
His aggression, and support from opener George Munsey (35) in an 89-run second-wicket partnership, pushed the scoring rate up to 10 runs per over.
However, Australia were able to regain a measure of containment when McMullen fell to leg-spinner Adam Zampa in the 12th over.
Despite a battling unbeaten 42 from skipper Richie Berrington, only 69 runs came off the last 52 balls of the innings when Scotland would have been looking to put up a total in excess of 200.
“Unfortunately in the back overs we didn’t quite manage to capitalize on the good start we got with the bat,” Berrington said.
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