1st T20I, Raeburn Place, July 27, 2022, 07:00 PM
New Zealand
225/5(20.0ov)
Scotland
157/8(20.0ov)
New Zealand beat Scotland by 68 runs
Best Batsmen
R
B
4S
6S
SR
Best Bowler
O
R
W
Econ
Man of the Match
Finn Allen
Commentry
Right then, that is all we have from this first T20I. New Zealand go 1-0 up and Scotland would be eyeing a win in the next game to level this series. The second game will be played on Friday, 29th of July at 7 pm IST (1.30 pm GMT). Our build-up though starts in advance. So do join us for the same. Till then, goodbye and cheers!
Mitchell Santner, the skipper of New Zealand, says that they got off to a good start on a nice wicket and it was turning and it was nice to see. Says that Allen showed the glimpses in the Irish series and today he carried on. Says that the depth in the squad is great and it is good to see that players are taking the opportunities that are coming their way.
Richie Berrington, the skipper of Scotland, says that it was a tough day and they certainly did not execute it the way they can. Tells that they gave away a lot of runs in the backend and credits Allen for his knock. Says that he hopes to come out with better execution in the next game. Tells that the positives for them would be the way Greaves bowled in the middle overs but they need to better in the next game.
Finn Allen is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH. He says that the wicket was nice and it was good to get a score on the board. Tells that he has been batting well and today it came off. Says that it has been great batting with Guptill and mentions that they had a good preparation for this game.
Presentation time..
Earlier in the day, it was Finn Allen who delivered a special performance with the bat and got to his maiden T20I century. He century meant that Kiwis got a huge score on the board as Scottish bowlers, especially pacers struggled on this flat deck. It was always going to be tough from thereon and in the end Scotland ended up crumbling under pressure to hand New Zealand a lead in this two-match T20I series.
The Kiwis were quite clinical, they did not get wickets in the Powerplay but never let the game drift away from them. They then reaped the rewards of bowling tight lines and Sodhi bowled brilliantly in the middle overs to shatter any hopes Scotland had after a decent start with the bat. He finished with four wickets and the skipper Santner also joined the party as he took two wickets to cap off a huge win for the visitors.
Scotland had a humongous task in front of them with the bat, as they went onto leak 225 runs with the ball. Scottish openers started off cautiously and they did not lose a wicket till 8 overs. However, the first wicket fell on the score of 62 and after that, the Scottish innings just went downhill. They continued losing wickets as they tried to up the ante. From 62-0, they crumbled to 88-5 and even though Greaves and the lower order batted with a lot of heart in the end, they never ever looked like chasing this target down.
New Zealand have clinched this first T20I with a dominating performance. They outplayed Scotland completely in all the departments and the Scottish unit need to come up with better plans and execution in the next game if they want to level this series.
In over# 20
2
0W
0
0
1b
1nb
0
Lockie Ferguson 35/1(4)
19.6
2
This is full and angling down leg, Chris Sole clips this towards deep backward square leg for a couple of runs.
19.5
W
OUT! CAUGHT BEHIND! Lockie Ferguson gets a wicket for his efforts! He serves this on the shorter side on middle and leg. Safyaan Sharif looks to heave it across the line. He gets beaten by the pace as he only manages to get an outside edge to Dane Cleaver behind the wicket. He pouches an easy catch and Lockie Ferguson has got his wicket column ticking.
19.4
.
Short and wide outside off. Sharif looks to cut it but misses.
19.3
.
A slower length delivery, around off. Sharif steers it to point.
19.2
1b
Bowls a slower bouncer for the Free Hit and angling down leg. Mark Watt swings and misses. The keeper can not collect cleanly and the batters take a bye.
19.2
1nb
NO BALL! Lockie Ferguson attempts a yorker and bowls a high full toss outside off. Mark Watt goes across to play this fine but misses. The umpire calls this a no ball for bowling a full toss above the waist.
19.1
.
Goes 'round the wicket and serves a full toss outside off. Mark Watt hits this straight to mid off.
In over# 19
6
1
1
1
1
0
James Neesham 17/0(2)
18.6
6
SIX! Safyaan Sharif is enjoying himself here! James Neesham bangs this one in short and outside off. The ball sit up nicely and Safyaan Sharif pulls this high and handsome over the deep mid-wicket fence for a biggie!