Brave Scots restore some pride but fall short again
SCOTLAND succumbed, as expected, to their third defeat of the Super 12 stage at the T20 World Cup but put up a gallant performance against New Zealand.
Martin Guptill’s knock of 93 proved to be the main difference between the sides as the Saltires fell 17 runs short in their attempts to chase down a target of 173 to win.
There were fears that it could be a one-sided contest given Scotland’s two heavy defeats to Afghanistan and then Namibia earlier in the group, but they restored an element of pride by making the Black Caps sweat a little in places before Shane Burger’s men ran out of steam towards the end.
Guptill was the undoubted man of the match but there were strong performers in the Scotland line-up, too.
Michael Leask did what the Scotland top order couldn’t as he bashed a quickfire 42 runs from 20 balls late in the innings to put a more respectable sheen on the scoreboard.
And Mark Watt again demonstrated why he has been one of the most impressive and economic bowlers of the tournament, stifling the bighitting New Zealanders on his way to posting figures of one for 13 from his four overs.
The frustration for Scotland was that no other batter made more than 27 runs, while Ally Evans — in for the injured Josh Davey — went for 48 from his four overs, a costly outing from the big quick bowler.
Burger really needed a complete performance if they were to topple one of the best sides in the world but captain Kyle Coetzer wasn’t hugely disappointed ahead of tomorrow’s clash with India.
‘After two losses last week, it was important for us to put in a performance against a very good side,’ he said. ‘For us to go out, put on a bit of a show and show what we are capable of is something to take from today.
‘This game has given us a bit more confidence again after we lost it a bit after the two games last week.’
New Zealand had thrashed India by eight wickets in their previous outing but, put into bat, they looked in real danger at one point when Scotland had them at 52 for three.
Safyaan Sharif removed opener Daryl Mitchell leg before wicket for 13 and then claimed the scalp of captain Kane Williamson, who recorded only the fourth-ever T20I duck of his career.
Watt then came on to bowl after the powerplay and showed what he’s capable of by removing Devon Conway, caught behind, with his first ball.
‘Mark was brilliant today and he has been bowling extremely well for quite a while now,’ added Coetzer of the Heriot’s captain. ‘He is the guy you can throw the ball to at any end, short boundary, long boundary, into the breeze, against the breeze, he is willing to do it. I think he has put his hand up to be one of the best left-arm spinners in this competition.’
Scotland needed to capitalise at that point but found in Guptill a man in terrific form, despite clearly struggling with the heat and humidity in Dubai.
The 35-year-old raced to a half century — smashing Chris Greaves for a six — as he and Glenn Phillips put on a century partnership.
Both men eventually fell in the 19th over to Brad Wheal, Phillips caught for 33 before Guptill went just seven shy of his third T20I ton.
By that point he had already smashed seven maximums on his way to surpassing 3,000 runs in this format, second only to Virat Kohli.
Scotland needed to get off to a flier in their reply but both openers couldn’t build on positive starts, Coetzer going for 17 and George Munsey holing out for 22 as he attempted to hit a third six in a row off Ish Sodhi.
It was a similar story with Matthew Cross — who hit Adam Milne for five boundaries in an over before departing for 27 — Richie Berrington (20) and Calum MacLeod (12), who all looked in good shape to rack up a big score before giving away their wickets cheaply.
Leask at least looked in the mood to atone for a dropped catch as he thumped in three maximums and another three boundaries in a late flurry but it was already too late for Scotland by that point as New Zealand held on for a comfortable win.
‘So close but just not quite good enough in the end,’ said head coach Burger. ‘We know that we could have done enough — and should have done enough — to get over the line against a very good cricket team who are ranked fourth in the world.’