Scotland pull off impressive thrashing of West Indies in T20 World Cup

Scotland claimed one of the most impressive wins in their history, upsetting the odds at the T20 World Cup again as they beat West Indies by 42 runs at Hobart.

George Munsey’s unbeaten 66 off 53 balls underpinned Scotland’s 160 for five after they lost the toss, with important cameos from Calum MacLeod (23 off 14) and Chris Greaves (16 not out off 11).

The Windies raced to 53 for one, but Evin Lewis was out from the penultimate ball of the powerplay, the start of a dramatic collapse that saw the 2012 and 2016 winners lose seven wickets for 26 runs in 45 deliveries.

It was the decisive moment in both sides’ opening Group B encounter in this first round, with Mark Watt, so often crucial to Scotland’s success, shining as the Windies were rolled for 118 in 18.3 overs. The slow left-armer was clever with his variations and finished with three for 12 from his four overs to boost Scotland’s hopes of qualifying for the Super 12s stage for a second successive year.

Twelve months ago they overcame Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea and tournament co-hosts Oman to top their preliminary group, the first time they had gone past the first round at any World Cup event.

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While the Windies are without the likes of Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Kieron Pollard in Australia, they were still fancied in a group also containing Ireland and Zimbabwe. But chilly conditions at the Bellerive Oval seemed to play into Scotland’s hands and West Indies must now win their last two group games to give themselves the best chance of avoiding an ignominious exit.