Rasooli, Nabi and Omarzai Shine as Afghanistan Beat Scotland by 61 Runs

Rasooli, Nabi and Omarzai Shine as Afghanistan Beat Scotland by 61 Runs

Afghanistan delivered a dominant all-round performance to register a comprehensive 61-run victory over Scotland in a T20 World Cup warm-up match in Bengaluru.

Batting first, Afghanistan posted a competitive 184 for 6 in their 20 overs, built around a fluent knock from Darwish Rasooli and a late assault by Mohammad Nabi. Scotland, in reply, were bowled out for 123 in 19.3 overs, never seriously threatening the target.

Afghanistan were put under early pressure after fast bowlers Jack Jarvis and Mark Watt struck inside the powerplay, removing Gulbadin Naib and Sediqullah Atal. Rasooli, coming in at No. 4, steadied the innings alongside opener Ibrahim Zadran, with the pair adding 82 runs for the third wicket to rebuild momentum.

Zadran made 36 before falling, and Azmatullah Omarzai departed soon after, but Rasooli continued to anchor the innings. He retired out on 84 from 46 balls, an innings studded with seven fours and five sixes. Nabi then provided the finishing touches with a brisk 34 off just 16 deliveries to propel Afghanistan to a strong total. For Scotland, Brad Currie and Mark Watt were the pick of the bowlers, claiming two wickets each.

Scotland’s chase faltered early and never recovered. George Munsey was dismissed in the fifth over by Omarzai, triggering a collapse that saw Scotland lose four wickets for just 26 runs. Rashid Khan removed Brandon McMullen, while Ziaur Rahman accounted for Michael Jones before Nabi struck twice to dismiss captain Richie Berrington and Finlay McCreath for eight apiece.

A brief resistance came through a 23-run stand between wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Cross and Watt, but once Watt fell at the end of the 16th over, Scotland’s innings unraveled quickly. They lost their final five wickets for 21 runs in just 28 balls.

Omarzai finished with impressive figures of 3 for 14 at an economy rate of 4.66, while Nabi capped off a fine all-round display with 2 for 9 from his two overs, sealing a convincing warm-up win for Afghanistan.