Greaves hits 45 as Scotland recover to post 140/9

Al Amerat (Oman), October 17

Chris Greaves led a fine lower-order fightback with a 28-ball 45 as Scotland recovered from a hopeless situation to post 140 for nine against Bangladesh in their Group B opener of the T20 World Cup first round here on Sunday.

Invited to bat first, Scotland were reeling at 53 for six in the 12th over before Greaves added 51 runs with Mark Watt (22 off 17 balls) to prop up Scotland.

Scotland were off to a poor start as they lost skipper Kyle Coetzer for just five runs on the board in the third over.

Coetzer failed to open his account before being bowled by Saifuddin.

Off-spinner Mahedi Hasan snared two wickets in his first over as he dismissed wicketkeeper Matthew Cross (11) and George Munsey (29) after the two had added 40 runs for the second wicket.

This was after a brilliant display by Bangladesh bowlers in the power play as they restricted Scotland to 39 for one in the first six overs.

Star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan then joined the party by getting rid of Richie Berrington (2) and Michael Leask (0) to leave Scotland tottering at 52 for five, which soon became 53 for six when Hasan picked up his third wicket in the form of Calum MacLeod (5).

Greaves, who hit four fours and two sixes, then came to their rescue.

Brief scores:

Scotland: 140/9 in 20 overs (George Munsey 29, Chris Greaves 45; Mahedi Hasan 3/19, Shakib Al Hasan 2/17). —PTI