60 all out
It's all over. Scotland have been bundled out for 60. In just 10.2 overs. We all knew it would be an uphill task for Scotland to chase down 191 but no one would have expected them to collapse in this manner. But once Mujeeb took care of the top order, the lower order had no chance against Rashid. The legspinner finishes with 4 for 9 from his 2.2 overs as Afghanistan register their biggest win ever, by 130 runs. That's more like the total teams have been posting so far.
That's all for the Live Blog. We will have the match report up soon, followed by Matt Roller's copies from the venue. Do check those out.
13
28
6
2
Mujeeb picks up a fifer
Mark Watt is the next to depart. It's a carrom ball from Mujeeb this time. Watt goes for the drive but has no idea what way the ball is spinning. Through the gate. That's Mujeeb's first five-wicket haul in T20I cricket. He finished with 4-0-20-5.
25
25
12
3
Rashid strikes in his first over
Nothing is going Scotland's way. Rashid Khan bowls a googly, Leask misses it and the result is almost inevitable. Another lbw. The batter opts to review. The impact is umpire's call but there is no doubt where the ball was heading. Into the middle stump.
The result is a foregone conclusion now. We are just waiting for the margin of win/loss.
8
20
5
3
Naveen removes Cross; Mujeeb gets his fourth
Matthew Cross chased a wide delivery against Naveen-ul-Haq, got a healthy outside edge that went to the right of Shahzad, who flew and went full stretch to grab it. He is going to talk about it a lot afterwards.
In the next over, Munsey hit Mujeeb for a six but Mujeeb rattled his stumps on the very next ball.
Scotland 36 for 5, and Rashid Khan is still to bowl.
4
11
5
3
4
11
3
2
Mujeeb rocks Scotland with a three-wicket over
1
W
W
•
•
W
Scotland raced to 27 in three overs but Mujeeb pegs them back. Kyle Coetzer was the first to go, bowled through the gate with a googly. On the next ball, he trapped Calum MacLeod lbw with yet another googly. The batter opted to review the decision but the ball-tracking showed it was clipping the leg stump. Umpire's call and that stays out. Richie Berrington survived the hat-trick ball but he lasted only two more balls as Mujeeb's googly snared him as well. Another umpire's call in the lbw decision.
7
17
9
2
Munsey starts in reverse gear
Mohammad Nabi bowls the first over for Afghanistan with the shorter boundary on the off side for left-hander George Munsey. No worries says Munsey and reverse-sweeps the second ball to the deep cover boundary. Another reverse sweep on the next ball and the bails sails over deep cover via the top edge.
Munsey tries to do the same against Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the second over even though now the shorter boundary is on his leg side. He is beaten twice in two balls on that shot as Mujeeb doesn't allow the time to line him up.
1
4
T20 Time Out Live
1
7
1
Afghanistan 190 for 4
146.66, 146.66, 124.32, 173.52, 275.00. Those are the strike rates of the Afghanistan batters. Apart from Gurbaz, all others attacked right from the start. Najibullah was the top scorer with 59 off 34 balls and was out on the last ball of the innings. Nabi smashed 11* off four balls towards the end as Afghanistan ransacked 63 from the last five overs. Afghanistan finish with 190 for 4. In Sharjah. That will take some chasing.
1
12
2
Gurbaz falls for 46 but Najibullah brings up fifty
50 A fifty for Najibullah Zadran. Off just 30 balls. This is his fifth half-century in 55 T20I innings.
8
22
4
1
4
16
2
2
How many Afghanistan will end up with?
Rahmanullah Gurbaz started slowly. He took seven balls to open his account but Najibullah Zadran has been aggressive right from the start and that meant the runs kept coming at a brisk pace.
Afghanistan have two set batters in. They have eight wickets in hand. And they have 127 on the board after 15 overs. Mohammed Nabi is yet to come. Our Forecaster is giving them 178. If they score that many, it will really test Scotland.
2
14
2
Watt removes Zazai
Mark Watt provides Scotland with the big breakthrough. With a dart at 107kph, right in the blockhole. It hits Zazai's pad before clattering into the stumps. He walks back for 44 off 30. Najibullah Zadran is the new batter - a left-hander replaced by a left-hander.
Afghanitsan 82/2 after ten
7
11
5
8
A 101-metre monster
Zazai is doing what he does best. Clearing his front leg and swinging towards the leg side. It doesn't matter if it's the longer boundary as he smashes Brad Wheal for a 101-metre six, the longest six in the tournament.
Shahzad tries to take on the longer boundary against Safyaan Sharif but holes out to deep midwicket. He has done his job though with a 15-ball 22. That brings Rahmanullah Gurbaz to the crease.
Afghanistan end their powerplay on 55 for 1, the joint-most in the powerplay this World Cup.
2
13
4
2
3
7
2
2
Shahzad vs Scotland
Mohammad Shahzad has scored 309 runs in six T20Is against Scotland coming into this game. At an average of 51.50 and a strike rate of 148.55. In four of those games, he was the Player of the Match. His lowest score against them has been 30.
And he is away once again, smashing the first ball he faced, from offspinner Michael Leask, over long-off for a six. That's the shorter side as well. Two balls later, Zazai targets the same area for the same result.
3
10
3
1
Head to head
These two teams have played six T20Is against each other. Afghanistan have won on all six occasions. Five of those wins have come while defending a target. However, they haven't played each other in this format since 2016.
5
8
6
2
Afghanistan choose to bat
Mohammad Nabi won the toss and decided to bat. Kyle Coetzer is happy to bowl first. So both captains are pleased with the variable that can, at times, have a big say in the end result.
Hazratullah Zazai and Mohammad Shahzad are likely to open for Afghanistan, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz slotting behind them. Their bowling will revolve around the spin troika of Nabi, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Naveen-ul-Haq will lead the seam attack.
Scotland are unchanged because why fix something that isn't broken.
Here are the two XIs:
Afghanistan: 1 Hazratullah Zazai, 2 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 3 Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 4 Asghar Afghan, 5 Mohammad Nabi (capt), 6 Najibullah Zadran, 7 Gulbadin Naib, 8 Karim Janat 9 Rashid Khan, 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Scotland: 1 Kyle Coetzer (capt), 2 George Munsey, 3 Calum MacLeod, 4 Richie Berrington, 5 Matthew Cross (wk), 6 Michael Leask, 7 Chris Greaves, 8 Mark Watt, 9 Josh Davey, 10 Safyaan Sharif, 11 Brad Wheal
6
6
2
T20 Time Out Live with Tom Moody and Peter Borren
4
6
'The only happiness in Afghanistan is cricket'
Afghanistan, as a country, has been through a lot in the last few months. Given all the turmoil their people have gone through, cricket may seem inconsequential to many, but Mohammad Nabi believes a good show by the Afghanistan cricket team at the T20 World Cup will bring smiles on the faces back home.
Here's what he said on the eve of the match: "The fans are really waiting for the games because the only happiness in Afghanistan is cricket. If we do well in the tournament and win games, there will be lots of smiles on faces."
4
17
2
2
Afghanistan kick off their World Cup campaign
Hello and welcome to our Live Report. It's Afghanistan vs Scotland in Sharjah tonight, with the former making their first appearance in the 2021 T20 World Cup. Scotland, on the other hand, have primed themselves with three wins in as many games in a table-topping performance in the first round.
Tonight's game will be played on the same pitch that was used for the Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka game. That means one square boundary is only 57 metres while the other is 73 metres. It will be interesting to see how Afghanistan use their spinners.
2
12
5