Berrington knock PNG out of the WC despite valiant Vanu effort

Scotland registered their second consecutive win in the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup. Kyle Coetzer's men beat Papua New Guinea by 17 runs in a thrilling encounter at Al Amerat on Tuesday. It was Papua New Guinea's second loss in the tournament which saw them knocked out of the tournament. 

Scotland successfully defended 140 the other day against Bangladesh and they opted for the same approach in this match too as they batted first after winning the toss. The openers- Coetzer and George Munsey- got off to a fiery start, collecting 22 runs off the first two overs. 

But Papua New Guinea stemmed the run flow by sending back both the openers in quick succession. Coetzer was deceived by a slower inswinger from Kabua Morea in the third over. Munsey too got out in the next over. Scotland were 37 for two after the powerplay. 

Richie Berrington and Matthew Cross steadied the ship after the fall of the first two wickets. They pushed and nudged, rotated the strike regularly and Scotland were 67 for two after 10 overs.

The duo decided to get a move on and collected 14 runs off the 11th over bowled by Charles Amini. Berrington was the more aggressive of the two until the 13th over. Cross, who was going run-a-ball until that point, joined the party in the 13th over, hitting a four and a six in that over.

Simon Atai broke the partnership by dismissing Cross in the 15th over. Cross mistimed a rank long hop from Atai and Amini took a comfortable catch at deep midwicket. The partnership yielded 92 runs and it was the highest stand for Scotland for any wicket in the World Cup. Despite the dismissal of Cross, Scotland were 120 for three after 15 and looked set for a total somewhere around 180.

Berrington was finally dismissed in the penultimate over. He top-scored for Scotland with 70 off 49 deliveries. 

Papua New Guinea pulled things back nicely towards the end as they picked up six wickets conceding 45 between over 16 to 20. Scotland finished with 165 for nine after 20 overs. Kabua Morea registered a four-wicket haul while Chad Soper picked up three.

Scotland started strongly with the ball, sending back five Papua New Guinea batters inside the powerplay that included the experienced duo of Assad Vala and Charles Amini. 

Papua New Guinea were 75 for six after 13 overs and a defeat for them looked inevitable. But Norman Vanua and Kiplin Doriga gave Scotland a real headache by smashing 45 runs off the next three overs and bringing the equation down to 46 off four overs. 

The experienced Mark Watt broke the partnership by dismissing Doriga in the 17th over. Josh Davey then removed the danger-man Vanua for 47 in the next ball. Vanua's dismissal was the last nail in the coffin for Papua New Guinea. In the end, they fell short by 17 runs despite some lusty blows from Chad Soper.

Davey was the pick of the Scotland bowlers, picking up a four-for.