Stuart's 20/20 World Cup Series: 21 Group Match Report 15

Game One - Scotland 180/5 v 186/5 Australia Australia WIN
Against a strong Australia team Scotland can be proud of scoring 180 in their 20 overs.

A wonderful 60 from Brandon McMullen featured six maximums while Captain Richie Berrington added 42 to keep the ship steady with the top three finally out.

Then it was Australia's turn.

With two wickets gone in the power play, and a third in the ninth over belief that Scotland could pull off an unlikely victory must have been rising. Unfortunately limpet like Travis Head batted steadily through 15 overs for his 68, while Marcus Stoinis whalloped his 59 off only 29 balls.

After 17 overs Scotland had been 153/5, Australia were 155/5. it was the first over of the innings where they moved ahead of the required run rate and, even though it went down to the 4th ball of the final over, they had it sown up from here.

Australia's win puts Scotland out, and England in to the Super Eights

Game Two Ireland 106/9 v 111/7 Pakistan Pakistan WIN
In a dead rubber there is the worry teams may have mentally checked out of the tournament, allowed their minds to turn to getting home and seeing the family, or their regular club team-mates.

When Ireland were 32 for 6 halfway through the seventh over it looked like the Emerald Isle was calling its boys home. Somehow they rallied. Delany's 31 from 19 balls was the pick of the innings, but Little's 22 not out deserves a mention.

Still, the bowlers had surely done the job needed. 3 for 22 from Afridi was a good return, but Imad Wasim's 3 for 8 was an excellent spell. Still, did they let things get away from them by not taking that last Irish wicket?

Pakistan set out to settle the issue as soon as possible. when the 1st wicket fell at the start of the 5th over they already had 23. When the 2nd fell ten balls later they'd scored another 16 runs to be on 39. At this rate it would be a quick canter to the end.

Then three wickets fell in 9 balls for only 5 runs. The score may have been more than halfway, but available batters were also halfway through, 57/5.

Babar Azam guided the innings home, though it was left to some power hitting from Shaid Afridi to see hings over the line. In the nineteenth over he smashed Gareth Delany over long on for a first 6, four balls later he dispatched the ball well over the mid-wicket boundary for a second. he faced five balls, and scored thirteen runs.

If Pakistan had shown the same ability to close out a game against USA and India, they wouldn't be heading home now.

There are 4 matches left in the stage of the tournament. Three of them are tomorrow in my timezone.
Bangladesh v Nepal should confirm Bangladesh as the second team to qualify from this group but, should they slip up, Netherlands could sneak in if they hand Sri Lanka a heavy defeat.

The final game of the day is the dead rubber between regional neighbours New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. New Zealand will want another decisive victory as against Uganda, Papua New Guinea will hope for a small miracle of their own.

Check back tomorrow for reviews & updated boundary totals.

text by stuartcturnbull. graphic by Mir Rammez Raja & edited by stuartcturnbull via postermywall