Australia Crushes Scotland, Secures Super Eight Berth In a dominant display, Australia flattened Scotland by 5 wickets to qualify for the Super Eight stage of the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup. Batting first, Scotland were restricted to a meager 111/6 despite an enterprising 35 from skipper Kyle Coetzer. Australia’s bowlers were relentless, with Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc taking two wickets apiece. Australia’s chase got off to a shaky start with the early loss of captain Aaron Finch. However, David Warner (28) and Marcus Stoinis (25) steadied the ship with a 49-run partnership. Steve Smith then entered the fray with a composed 35 not out, anchoring the innings and guiding Australia home in the 19th over. England Books Super Eight Spot with Win Over Sri Lanka England also secured their berth in the Super Eight with a comfortable 26-run victory over Sri Lanka. Jos Buttler led England’s batting charge with a blistering 68 from just 36 balls. Jonny Bairstow (42) and Moeen Ali (43*) provided valuable support, lifting England to a formidable 189/3. Sri Lanka struggled to keep pace in their chase, losing wickets at regular intervals. Pathum Nissanka top-scored with 67, but lacked substantial support. Liam Livingstone played a key role for England, bagging three wickets and restricting Sri Lanka to 163/8. Both Australia and England will now join the remaining eight teams in the Super Eight stage, where they will battle for a spot in the semifinals.

Gros Islet, St Lucia: Australia did arch-rivals England a huge favor with a five-wicket victory over a plucky Scotland as the Richie Berrington-led side crashed out of the T20 World Cup Super Eight stage race.

Gros Islet, St Lucia: Australia did arch-rivals England a huge favor with a five-wicket victory over a plucky Scotland as the Richie Berrington-led side crashed out of the T20 World Cup Super Eight stage race.

With England defeating Namibia earlier in the day in a rain-cut match, all Jos Buttler’s team needed was Australia’s victory over Scotland to get a lifeline.

Australia scored 186/5 while chasing 181 in 19.4 overs after Scotland fought till the end to keep their hopes alive.

After posting a formidable total, Scotland had even reduced a nervous Australia to 60/3 at one point, but their most successful batsmen in this World Cup, Travis Head (68) and Marcus Stoinis (59), delivered again.

“We talked about sticking to our plans. Scotland are a good team, they’ve improved a lot and we certainly wanted to respect them,” Australia captain Mitchell Marsh said after the win.

“We just wanted to be consistent and if we fail, we fail in our own way. Every time our team is challenged, it brings out the best in us. Today we were challenged and it was a good experience and a good game of cricket. Let’s start again now,” he added..

As Australia’s chase seemed to crumble, Head and Stoinis joined forces to bring them back into the game.

On a wicket where batsmen could swing their willows without worrying much about pace or movement off the surface, the two experienced campaigners tested Scottish resolve with a solid 80-run partnership for the third wicket off just 44 balls.

Head hit four sixes and five fours to top-score with 68 off just 49 balls, but Stoinis was more aggressive, smashing nine fours and two sixes to make a quickfire 59 off just 29 balls.

But before that, there were some nervy moments for the former champions as David Warner (1) was taken out of the equation early, captain Mitchell Marsh failed to prevail and Glenn Maxwell’s torrid run with the bat continued.

Maxwell was beaten by one from Mark Watt that straightened enough to hit his bat and crash into the top of the stump, further extending the all-rounder’s struggles with the bat, even though he claimed two wickets in the first half.

“I think the boys can keep their heads up. We played very good cricket throughout the tournament. It was a big learning for us. Obviously we are a bit disappointed given the position we were in. We came here to qualify but we couldn’t” “Don’t do that,” said Scotland captain Berrington.

Earlier, Scotland gave their best in terms of setting a formidable total against the heavyweights, finishing with 180 for five after being asked to bat first.

Australia were expected to have rested some of their frontline pacers and their absence was felt as the others failed to produce as much impact and control as their first-choice bowling attack.

Brandon McMullen was the star with the bat for the Scots as they took on the Australian bowling, hitting six sixes and two fours to reach 60 off just 34 balls and set a solid platform for his team after an early blow.

Aston Agar had cleaned up opener Michael Jones for two in the first over, but the pair of McMullen and George Munsey produced an excellent recovery for Scotland, making 89 runs for the second wicket in just 48 balls.

If McMullen was the more belligerent of the two, Munsey played his part well with a 23-ball 35, which was studded with three sixes and a couple of fours.

After the pair broke up, Scotland captain Richie Berrington took it upon himself to take his team forward as he forged multiple crucial positions with the following batsmen to take them to 180.

Berrington scored 42 not out from 31 balls with two sixes and a four to keep the pressure on for the Scots even as Australia looked to get things back in the final five overs, conceding 42 runs.

Published June 16, 2024, 04:01 IST

Australia crushed Scotland by 5 wickets in their Group B match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Hobart on Monday, while England entered the Super Eight stage with a 20-run victory over Ireland in Group C. Australia chased down Scotland’s target of 133 in 17.1 overs, with Cameron Green hitting a quickfire 37 off 19 balls and Mitchell Marsh making an unbeaten 25 off 18 balls. Earlier, Scotland rode on Michael Leask’s half-century (42 off 20 balls) to post 132/6 in their 20 overs. In the other match of the day, England defeated Ireland by 20 runs in Melbourne. England scored 157/7 in their allotted 20 overs, with Liam Livingstone top-scoring with a 42-ball 66. Ireland fell short of the target, managing only 137/9 in their 20 overs despite a fighting half-century from Curtis Campher (66 off 47 balls). With this victory, England topped Group C and entered the Super Eight stage, while Ireland joined Scotland in being eliminated from the tournament.