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WC15: Afghanistan register miracle one-wicket win against Scotland

By FnF Desk | PUBLISHED: 26, Feb 2015, 13:28 pm IST | UPDATED: 26, Feb 2015, 13:28 pm IST

WC15: Afghanistan register miracle one-wicket win against Scotland

Dunedin: Afghanistan were clinical in during their ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 match against Scotland at the University Oval in Dunedin on Thursday when they registered a miraculous one-wicket victory after a position from where a victory seemed impossible, with three balls to spare. Samiullah Shenwari was undoubtedly the hero of match for his fighting knock of 96 off 147 balls, which helped Afghanistan recover from 97 for seven to register their first-ever World Cup win. Javed Ahmadi was the other shining figure in the Afghanistan batting line-up, scoring a run-a-ball 51, with Afghanistan earning two points as a result.

Scotland were earlier bowled out for a total of 210, with the final wicket of Alasdair Evans falling off the last delivery of the innings. Matt Machan and Majid Haq top-scored for their side, both scoring 31 runs each. Shapoor Zadran starred with the ball on the other hand, taking four wickets while conceding 38 runs from his quota of 10 overs. The ninth-wicket partnership between Haq and Evans, worth 62 runs, helped Scotland cross 200 from 144 for eight.

Afghanistan were off to a promising start, after bowling Scotland out for 210 in 50 overs. After a couple of quiet early overs, Ahmadi began the go for the boundaries in an attempt to get his side in a position of advantage early in the innings. With Afghanistan comfortable perched at 42 for no loss after seven overs, courtesy six boundaries off Ahmadi’s bat, Afghanistan were handed their first blow in the eighth over of the match when Nawroz Mangal missed the line of the delivery completely, with the ball going on to hit the off-stump as he was dismissed for a score of seven off 13 balls. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: SCHEDULE & MATCH DETAILS

Scotland gave very few chances for the Afghans to recover from that point onwards. Asghar Stanikzai, who had scored a valiant half-century in Afghanistan’s previous game against Sri Lanka, hit a boundary off the second ball that he faced, before edging the final delivery of the eighth over when he nicked the rising delivery by Evans to wicket-keeper Matthew Cross to be dismissed for a score of four off three balls. Afghanistan seemed to be heading towards trouble, and would have needed a partnership to come in their way. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage

Samiullah Shenwari, one of Afghanistan’s top all-rounders and a major source of hope for his team in crisis situations, started off on his mission of recovery on a positive note. Shenwari was patient at the crease, taking his time to get the runs along as Ahmadi brought up his fifth One-Day International (ODI) half-century as the Afghan hopes were beginning to build. Afghanistan were handed their biggest blow however, when Ahmadi was caught by Matt Machan off the bowling of Richie Berrington, misting the ball completely to result in a simple catch. Afghanistan lost their third wicket for 85 runs, as the alarm bells began to ring for them. Top 10 batsmen in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

It went completely downhill for the Afghans from that dismissal onwards, as they collapsed from 85 for three to 97 for seven. Afghanistan skipper Mohammad Nabi was dismissed for one off three balls after he was trapped leg-before by Davey. He went for the review, which turned out to be a waste of an opportunity as the decision went against him. Wicket-keeper batsman Afsar Zazai was next to depart for a golden duck, as he was dismissed in a manner similar to Nabi, this time off the bowling of Richie Berrington. Top 10 bowlers in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

Najibullah Zadran was dismissed at the end of the 23rd over for a score of four off five balls, getting caught by Majid Haq to give Berrington his third wicket. Afghanistan seemed to be out of contention from the match with the fall of the seventh wicket as Haq took his second catch to get Gulbadin Naib walking back to the pavilion. Top 10 fielders in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

Shenwari however, was not done with the match as yet, as he had his own plans to make the match a bit more interesting. Shenwari stuck to the crease like glue even as the wickets kept falling one after the other around him. He added 35 runs for the eighth wicket, before Dawlat Zadran was dismissed after Mommsen took a fine catch of the Berrington to give the latter his fourth wicket of the innings. Shenwari decided to get into the overdrive mode, adding 60 for the ninth wicket from 77 balls. Top 10 wicketkeepers in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

The 47th over was by far the most eventful one in the entire match, with Shenwari smashing three sixes off the bowling of Haq to take Afghanistan to the brink of victory, before dishing a catch to Josh Davey at deep mid-wicket to be dismissed four runs short of a brilliant century. Scotland managed to bring themselves back into the game one last time, after it looked like Shenwari would finish things by himself for his side. Shapoor Zadran was the last batsman to walk out to bat, and was required to have nerves of steel to oversee a possible victory for his side. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Pool-wise Team Standings

The 48th over was the most tense one in the entire match, with Zadran hitting a boundary off the last ball to fetch nine runs off the over and get the required equation down to five runs off six balls. Hassan sent the first ball of the over for a single to hand the strike back to Shapoor, who was nearly run-out in the second ball after a bit of a mix-up. The moment that the Afghan cricket fans would never forget finally came in the third delivery when Shapoor struck the third ball towards square-leg for a boundary, with the Afghans going wild with their celebrations immediately after.

Brief scores:

Scotland 210 in 50 overs (Mat Machan 31; Shapoor Zadran 4 for 38, Dawlat Zardran 3 for 29) lost to Afghanistan 211 for 9 in 49.3 overs (Javed Ahmadi 51, Samiullah Shenwari 96; Richie Berrington 4 for 40) by 1 wicket.

Man of the Match: Samiullah Shenwari

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