T20 World Cup 2022, R1, Group B, WI v SCO: Munsey 66*, Leask 2-15 effect another upset; Scotland win

ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022, Round 1, Group B, West Indies v Scotland: George Munsey's 66 off 53, Michael Leask-Mark Watt's 5-27 and Jason Holder's all-round show (38, 2-14) are top performances. Scotland beat West Indies by 42 runs in Group B game.

Michael Leask's 2-15 helps Scotland beat West Indies (Photo: ©ICC via Getty)

Brief Scores: Scotland 160/5 (Munsey 66*, MacLeod 23, Joseph 2-28) beat West Indies 118 (Holder 38, Watt 3-12, Leask 2-15) by 42 runs

Player of The Match: George Munsey - 66 runs

Scotland beat twice world champions West Indies by 42 runs in the T20 World Cup on Monday, thanks to George Munsey's brilliant 66* and some effective bowling. The unexpected result occurred just one day after Namibia beat Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka in the World Cup’s opening match in Australia.

When the match started, West Indies were looking the absolute favourites with the amount of firepower they possess in their batting line-up but unfortunately they didn’t click as a team and yet again allowed a comparatively weaker Scotland team to put 160 runs on board.

Scotland’s Brilliant All round Game

Scotland's innings was kept together by George Munsey, who hit 66 runs off 53 balls to help them reach 160. Scotland's slower bowlers held the West Indies to 118 to effect a 42-run victory.

The West Indies made a good start to their chase, reaching 53 for 1 in 5.4 overs, but then lost seven wickets for 26 runs, with left-arm spinner Mark Watt finishing with three wickets in four overs. Off-spinner Michael Leask maintained his control by dismissing two of the most devastating T20 batters in world cricket - Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell - while right-arm seamer Brad Wheal provided important breakthroughs in his opening spell.

The defeat puts the West Indies under strain ahead of their upcoming matches against Ireland and Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, Scotland will look to capitalize on their convincing victory and qualify for the league stage of T20 World Cup for the second year in a row.

So, here we look at the top three performances in Monday's encounter between West Indies and Scotland.

George Musney gets POTM for his 66 off 53 balls against WI (Photo: ©ICC via Getty)

George Munsey’s scintillating 66*

George Munsey and his opening partner Michael Jones took full advantage of batting first after losing the toss in batting friendly conditions and started scoring freely straightaway, racing away to a wicketless 52 runs in 5.3 overs before rain forced a 45-minute halt in play. Munsey, in particular, took on Kyle Mayers and Alzarri Joseph early on, peppering the leg side with fours or bending in to force through the covers with his wrists playing some exquisite shots along the ground.

Munsey managed to score 66* runs off just 53 balls with a strike rate of 124.33 took hold of Scotland’s innings as his side managed to score a fighting total of 160 and eventually beat West Indies.

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Mark Watt takes 3-12 against West Indies (Photo: ©ICC via Getty)

Michael Leask and Mark Watt’s 5 wickets

The pitch wasn't very difficult to bat on as many of West Indies' top hitters perished while attempting to play their shots in a 161-run chase. Brandon King remained upbeat for the duration of the powerplay after Monday’s showstopper Mark Watt got him out bowled for just 17 runs.

The skies had darkened at this point. Watt who opened the bowling for Scotland, returned after the powerplay. With Scotland already slightly ahead in terms of the DLS target for West Indies, it was the latter who tried to drive the play, hurting their own game because rain did not arrive in the second innings.

Pooran was bowled for 5 by Leask from outside the stumps after missing a pull shot. Powell was quick to follow, getting caught at long on. And Shamarh Brooks was caught trying to smash a back of a length delivery to the leg side's only boundary rider, leaving West Indies reeling at 77 for 6 after 12 overs.

And eventually, Michael Leask and Mark Watt ended up with figures of 2-15 and 3-12, respectively, helping their country create history.

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Jason Holder scores 38 and takes 2-14 against Scotland (Photo: ©AFG/Getty Images)

Jason Holder’s all-round brilliance

Jason Holder has been a brilliant servant of West Indies cricket for a very long time. Moreover, he proves it every time he steps on to the field. And today was no different for the 6 feet 8 inches tall guy. Holder started off with his brilliant seam-up bowling leaving the Scotland batters in all sorts of troubles. He got the better of Michael Jones (20) and Matthew Cross (3) with his fierce fast bowling.

That was not all from his end as it was now his chance to prove his worth with the bat also. Batting at number 8 for West Indies, Holder played some shots worth watching and admiring. Jason Holder ended up being the top scorer for his side after scoring 38 runs off 33 balls with a strike rate of 115.15. But his knock wasn’t enough for his side to overcome Scotland’s total as the rest of the batters fell like a pack of cards which meant West Indies fell 42 runs short in the end.

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ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 Points Table

T20 World Cup 2022 Points Table

Top Twitter Reactions from Scotland vs West Indies, Round 1 as Scotland upset West Indies:

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