Scotland hold nerve to beat UAE by one wicket in last-over thriller

Scotland edged United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a last-over thriller during the 124^th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup League Two on Sunday, August 9 at Forthill, Dundee. Needing 16 runs off the last two overs, with three wickets in hand, Scotland lost a well-set Matthew Cross (66 off 51) in the penultimate over of the innings, still 14 runs adrift of their 241-run target in the rain-curtailed 40-over fixture.

There was another twist in the tale as Safyaan Sharif (11 off 6) brought his team on the cusp of victory, smashing Muhammad Arfan for a six on the very first delivery of the last over, bringing the equation down to three needed off the last four balls.

However, he got run out at a crucial juncture of the game, before Jasper Davidson (9* off 5) got his team over the line on the penultimate ball of the over with a boundary as Scotland registered a thrilling one-wicket victory.

Earlier, Matthew Cross had the support of Michael Jones (44 off 52), with the duo adding 72 runs for the fifth wicket off 71 balls. Captain Richie Berrington also played a helping hand of 39 (58) with the help of four fours.

Muhammad Jawadullah (3/47) bowled his heart out for UAE, alongside Muhammad Arfan (2/50, 6.5 overs) and Akshdeep Nath (2/35, 7 overs). However, it wasn’t enough to seal his team’s victory.

Adeeb Usmani slams maiden ODI century

In the first innings, Adeeb Usmani continued his marvellous form and slammed his maiden ODI century, playing a scintillating knock of 116 (126) with the help of 11 fours and three sixes. Courtesy of his mammoth knock and solid contributions from Akshdeep Nath (32 off 40) and Sohaib Khan (30 off 25) UAE reached 231/8 in their allotted 40 overs.

Following their win, Scotland rose to second spot in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 points table with 43 points from 35 matches. On the other hand, UAE continued to reel at the last spot with 16 points from 27 matches.