Scotland registered back-to-back wins in the space of three days. After stunning Bangladesh, they now beat Papua New Guinea by 17 runs in Match 5 of the Men's T20 World Cup 2021, at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground, Oman. They posted 165/9, and bowled out PNG for 148 in 19.3 overs.
Scotland rode on Richie Berrington’s 49-ball 70, laced with six fours and three sixes, to finish on a commendable total. Berrington and Matt Cross (45) stitched a 92-run stand for the third wicket after losing George Munsey (15) and Kyle Coetzer (9) inside four overs.
However, Kabua Morea (4-31) and Chad Soper (3-24) came back well at the death, taking six wickets in the final two overs, and Scotland slipped from 151/3 to 165/9. Their last five batters could not even score 10.
Coming to chase, PNG got off to a nightmare start. They lost Tony Ura (2), Lega Siaka (9), Assad Vala (18), Charles Amini (1) and Simon Atai (2) inside the Powerplay. Josh Davey (4-18) did the most damage for Scotland during this period, while Bradley Wheal (1-41) and Alasdair Evans (1-22) had a wicket each. At No. 5, Sese Bau (24 in 23 balls) exhibited resilience under pressure, but did not last long, and PNG became 67/6.
Norman Vanua then launched a counterattack, smashing two sixes and as many fours in his 37-ball 47. But PNG’s slim hopes came to an end when Davey returned in the 18th over and got him with a slower bouncer Soper, too, hit an 11-ball 16, but there was little contest left in the match at that point.
Brief Scores: Scotland 165/9 in 20 overs (Richie Berrington 70; Kabua Morea 4-31) beat Papua New Guinea 148 in 19.3 overs (Norman Vanua 47; Josh Davey 4-18) by 17 runs. Player of the Match: Richie Berrington.