T20 World Cup: Martin Guptill's 93 helps New Zealand beat Scotland

Opener Martin Guptill’s 56-ball 93 set the stage for New Zealand’s triumph by a margin of 16 runs against Scotland in the T20 World Cup 2021 encounter between the two sides. Guptill’s knock comprised of six boundaries and seven sixes, enabling the Black Caps to post a total of 172 runs for the loss of five wickets. None of the other batsmen managed to make much of an impact, with the opener’s powerful display making a massive difference in proceedings. Glenn Phillips was the second highest run-getter with a 37-ball 33. The cricketer struggled to time the ball effectively, and was largely unable to get bat on ball.

Skipper Kane Williamson was dismissed for a duck, indicating the poor display by the New Zealand batters. Safyaan Sharif and Bradley Wheal were the pick of the bowlers for Scotland, accounting for two wickets apiece. Mark Watt was also quite impressive, chipping in with a dismissal while conceding just 13 runs.

“We have a day off tomorrow, so I won’t be doing much then. We didn’t have a great start. It wasn’t a rescue mission, but Glenn and I had to assess. I have played a lot of cricket with him, and we have put up a lot of partnerships for Auckland. A few missed balls and we were able to get them away and get some momentum. Not ideal with the running, but we got there in the end. Afghanistan are a great side and we can’t take them lightly,” said Guptill as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Michael Leask’s heroics go in vain as Scotland fall short

The Scottish batters attempted their best to push till the very end, with the players making their presence felt with significant performances. George Munsey (22 off 18), Kyle Coetzer (17 from 11), Matthew Cross (27 off 29) tried their level best to play a decisive knock. However, none of them managed to deliver a game-changing performance against a disciplined bowling attack led by Trent Boult. Michael Leask stole the limelight with a sensational display with the bat down the order. Leask smashed 42 runs off 20 deliveries in an innings comprising of three boundaries and sixes apiece. Boult and spinner Ish Sodhi were the pick of the bowlers, chipping in with two dismissals apiece.

Williamson was full of praise for Scotland, following the manner in which they managed to test his players to the core.

“We certainly knew coming into this tournament that there were match winners all around. It ebbed and flowed and we got a good first innings total. We were patchy with the ball but we need to move on. Credit to Scotland for the way they played and hit the ball out of the park.We were tested and we need to learn from this. Guptill is a power player. He is hitting the ball beautifully. We really needed his innings. Also Glenn Phillips, and that partnership was necessary to get us to a good total. A quick turnaround now, recover as quickly as possible for the next challenge,” he stated.

“There are always things to work on, and there are definitely a few things we want to touch on. We need to adjust quickly to surfaces. It was a hard fought match. We will go to Sharjah and take it from there. Every game is valuable and we know we try and prepare as well as possible for all of them. The next game is the only game that matters. For us it is all about playing the cricket we want to play and stay committed to that,” added Williamson.