It was not to be for Scotland. The spirited Associate team gave Australia a run for their money, before bowing out with a performance they can be proud of. Richie Berrington and Co lost by five wickets in St Lucia on Sunday (June 16) to finish third in Group B and narrowly miss out on a Super Eight berth. With that result, the English camp heaved a huge sigh of relief as they scraped through to the next stage on account of a better run rate. (Highlights | Scorecard | Full Coverage)
Chasing a competent target of 181 runs, Australia had to work hard and were under the pump for huge chunks of their innings. But eventually, their experience of pressure T20 scenarios came to the fore as Marcus Stoinis (59 off 29 balls), Travis Head (68 off 49 balls) powered the Aussies through and Tim David (24 not out off 14) carried them over the finish line.
Scotland began brilliantly with the ball, getting rid of David Warner and Mitchell Marsh early and keeping the runs to a minimum. At one stage, the asking rate was more than 12 runs an over. But that is when Stoinis and Head cut loose. The duo put together an 80-run partnership for the third wicket off just 44 balls to bring the required rate down to manageable proportions.
They both departed in quick succession, but the job was three-fourths done by then. David then applied the finishing touches. With five needed off four deliveries, David lofted the ball towards midwicket, but Chris Sole dropped the catch and the Aussie right-hander made them pay dearly. He struck a resounding six off the next ball that sealde Australia's victory, as also England's passage to the Super Eight. And with that, Scottish hopes of advancing were dashed.
Earlier, Scotland gave a sterling account of themselves with the bat, finding the fence with regularity - smacking 12 sixes - to threaten a 200-plus total. Brandon McMullen (60 off 34 balls) and George Munsey (35 off 23) set the platform with some clean hitting in the powerplay, and captain Richie Berrington (42 not out off 31 balls) stayed there till the end to anchor the innings in the latter half.
But Mitchell Starc and Nathan Ellis came good at the death, as the Aussies gave away just 42 runs in the last five overs to limit the score to 180 for the loss of five wickets.
Playing XIs
Australia: Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh(C), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade(WK), Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa.
Scotland: George Munsey, Michael Jones, Brandon McMullen, Richie Berrington(C), Matthew Cross(WK), Michael Leask, Chris Greaves, Mark Watt, Chris Sole, Brad Wheal, Safyaan Sharif.
