St Lucia: Australia played their final group stage match against Scotland at the Darren Sammy National Stadium in St Lucia. This match didn’t hold much significance for the Aussies as they had already qualified for Super 8 but for the Scottish, this was a do or die match because if they lost then that would see England go through.
Australia won the toss and invited Scotland to bat first. Scotland didn’t have a good start to their innings as opener Michael Jones lost his wicket to Ashton Agar in the very first over. George Munsey and Brandon McMullen’s 89-run stand put the Scottish innings back on track. Both the batsmen hit great shots and punished the Australian bowlers especially McMullen who hit 6 sixes in his knock of 60.
After both the batsmen lost their wickets with Scotland at 111/3 in the eleventh over, captain Richie Berrington stepped up and played a crucial knock of 42 to carry Scotland to 180/5 in 20 overs. This was a great score considering Australia’s impressive bowling lineup. The batsmen had done their job for Scotland and now it was up to the bowlers to deliver.
In reply, Australia lost both David Warner and Mitchell Marsh in the powerplay. Travis Head on the other hand, played a slow but steady knock and didn’t let his wicket be taken by the Scottish bowlers. Glenn Maxwell lost his wicket in the eighth over leaving Australia at 60/3. Till this point it looked as if Scotland will cause a major upset and will book their place into the Super 8. However, Marcus Stoinis who came in at 5, completely changed the game for the Aussies.
As soon as he got on the pitch, Stoinis started smashing Scotland bowlers around the park. He formed a great partnership with Head who kept on successfully rotating the strike. Their stand of 80 runs put Australia in the driving seat. Head smashed 3 sixes in a row before losing his wicket in the same over at 68.
Stoinis also lost his wicket in the next over but not before completely decimating the Scottish bowling lineup with his knock of 59 in just 29 balls. Australia only required 26 runs in 18 balls and Tim David’s quick-fire 24 helped them achieve the target with two balls to spare. Stoinis was awarded with the man-of-the-match award for his match-winning knock.
With this win, Australia continued their unbeaten run in the tournament and made it four wins in four matches to finish their group stage with 8 points. On the other hand, it was agony for Scotland because even after playing incredibly well throughout the tournament, they missed out on making it to the next stage and allowed their rivals, England to go through. Though they might have missed out on qualification to the Super 8, but Scotland deserves praise for their great performances in the tournament and for taking Australia to their limit.
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