Pakistan demolished Scotland by 72 runs in their final Super 12 match in Group 2 of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, here at Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah on Sunday.
New Zealand’s win over Afghanistan earlier in the day had temporarily pushed Pakistan down into second in Group 2, but Babar and his team will now qualify as group winners with a routine victory over Scotland. Men in Green lit up Sharjah with a stunning display of power-hitting to post 189/4 as Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik played innings of 66 and 54*, respectively. And in reply, Scotland never looked like chasing it down, finishing on 117/6, still 73 runs short.
Shadab Khan scalped two wickets while Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi returned with one for Pakistan.
Chasing 190, Scotland were 41/2 at the halfway point of the chase as they stared down the barrel of a heavy defeat. Pakistan clawed further deep as Shadab Khan struck twice in the 11th over to remove George Munsey and Dylan Budge.
With runs in scarcity, Michael Leask was sent back to the dressing room by Shaheen Afridi in the 16th over of the match. Haris Rauf removed Greaves in the last over as Scotland fell short 73 runs short of the target.
Earlier batting first, Pakistan produced a dominant performance with the bat in their final Super 12 game after winning the toss. Captain Babar Azam was in the runs again for his side, hitting a glorious 66 off 47, with quickfire contributions from Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez, helping Pakistan to a sizeable total of 189/4.
Malik equalled India opener KL Rahul’s record of fastest fifty in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
Malik achieved the feat in the ongoing match against Scotland as Pakistan look to end the Super 12 stage on a high. Malik smashed 54 runs in 18 balls as Pakistan scored 189 in 20 overs. In doing, the Pakistan batter equalled Rahul’s record of fastest fifty in this year’s T20 World Cup.
KL Rahul had scored 50 in 18 balls on Friday as India chased down 86 in 6.3 overs against Scotland.
Malik’s fifty is also the fastest half-century (18 balls) for Pakistan in T20 World Cup history.
Brief Scores: Pakistan 189/4 (Babar Azam 66, Shoaib Malik 54*; Chris Greaves 2-43, Hamza Tahir 1-24) vs Scotland 117/6 (Richie Berrington 54*, George Munsey 17; Shadab Khan 2-14, Shaheen Afridi 1-25)