North Sound (Antigua): Brandon McMullen’s unbeaten 61 and George Munsey’s 41 steered Scotland to a seven-wicket win over Oman in the T20 World Cup Group B match here at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium late on Sunday night.
After opting to bat first Oman posted 150/7, thanks to Pratik Athavale’s 54 off 40 balls, laced with five fours and two sixes. In reply, McMullen and Munsey led Richie Berrington’s side to 153/3 within 14 overs to seal the victory.
The win means Scotland still have hope of reaching the Super Eights as they jump to the top of the Group B table after a win against Namibia and an abandoned match against England in their two previous matches.
On the other hand, Oman became the first team to be officially knocked out of the tournament with three losses in as many as games.
Batting first, openers Athavale and Naseem Khushi started well. George Munsey had a brilliant chance to remove the Athavale before reaching his half-century but dropped him over the rope for six instead of sending him on his way, ICC reports.
Khushi was the first to fall in the third over when he attempted to move across his crease but ended up hitting a Chris Sole ball directly to Mark Watt. Aqib Ilyas was dismissed for 16, lbw off Safyaan Sharif, and then Zeeshan Maqsood made 3 before edging a delivery from Watt to Cross.
There was some drama in the ninth over when Watt believed he had bowled Khalid Kail out, but the umpire signalled a dead ball. However, Watt got his revenge on the very next delivery by whipping off the stumps with Kail well out of his crease, leaving Oman at 71/4.
Then, Ayaan Khan and Athavale built a 43-run partnership before the opener fell to Chris Greaves, caught by McMullen. Mehran Khan added a quick 13 off 10 balls before edging to Cross off Sharif, while Rafiullah was caught by Safyaan Sharif off Wheal.
Ayaan then finished strongly with two boundaries in the final over, taking Oman to 150/7.
Chasing 151, Scotland remained untroubled despite losing Michael Jones for 16 in the third over. Munsey kickstarted the innings with 41 off 20 balls and runs continued the flow when McMullen joined him on the crease.
When Shakeel Ahmed caught Munsey off Mehran in the eighth over, Scotland were 86/2 and well on their way to the target. Captain Berrington added 13, and wicketkeeper Cross remained unbeaten on 15 as McMullen led them to victory.
Brief scores: Oman 150/7 in 20 overs (Pratik Athavale 54, Ayaan Khan 41*; Safyaan Sharif 2-40) lost to Scotland 153/3 in 13.1 overs (Brandon McMullen 61*, George Munsey 41; Bilal Khan 1-12) by 7 wickets
–IANS