New Zealand have defeated Scotland by 16 runs in this crucial Group 2 match in Dubai on Wednesday. Batting first, New Zealand scored 172/5 and Scotland put up a tough fight, eventually falling short to lose their third match on the trot. With this, the Kiwis strengthen their chances for making it to the last four. That's it from the live blog!
OUT! Richie Berrington is the latest wicket to fall and Ish Sodhi has another wicket to his name. New Zealand are tightening their grip on this game and Scotland are not looking confident enough to get these runs.
OUT! Scotland have lost Calum MacLeod and now they are in trouble. Boult rattles the stumps behind MacLeod and it is now looking difficult for Scotland from here on.
OUT! Tim Southee has struck and has dismissed Matthew Cross, the player who was key to this chase. The ball went through the gap between bat and pad and rattled the stumps behind Cross. Scotland are three down now!
Scotland continue to stay in the chase despite losing two important wickets. With 76 runs on the board, they would fancy their chances in the last 10 overs and try and win this. We are in for a good contest here!
OUT! After being hit for two sixes, Ish Sodhi has his revenge, dismissing the dangerous George Munsey. The left-hander hit it straight and Tim Southee took a stunning catch to complete the dismissal. New Zealand have got a breakthrough just when it looked like Scotland were getting away with the chase.
What an over! Matthew Cross hits five cracking boundaries to bring Scotland back into the chase once again. Adam Milne, who bowled a maiden over earlier to Cross, now would be disappointed with this over as the wicketkeeper-batsman has struck 20 runs in six balls to end Scotland's powerplay at 48/1.
A maiden by Adam Milne! A wicket from Trent Boult in the last over and now Milne has bowled a maiden over to new batsman Matthew Cross. New Zealand have bounced back into the match after being hit for few boundaries in the first two overs.
OUT! New Zealand have got a breakthrough and Trent Boult, after being hit for three fours by Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer, has finally dismissed him. The ball slowed down, got the top edge and Tim Southee took a good catch to complete the dismissal.
New Zealand and Scotland take on each other in a crucial encounter at the T20 World Cup 2021 in Dubai on Wednesday, November 3. After a thumping win over India in their last match, New Zealand have shown why they are not to be taken lightly and they would once again aim to carry that momentum into this match. They would be confident ahead of facing Scotland, who have failed to perform the same way they did in the first round. Scotland walked into the Super 12 stage of this competition with a 100% win record in the first round but they have not found their feet so far in the main draw.
Heavy defeats to Afghanistan and Namibia have sent them to the bottom of the table and now, they are in search of their first win.
Squads:
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (capt), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Adam Milne (injury cover)
Scotland: Kyle Coetzer (capt), Richard Berrington (vice-capt), Dylan Budge, Matthew Cross (wk), Josh Davey, Alasdair Evans, Chris Greaves, Oli Hairs, Michael Leask, Calum Macleod, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Hamza Tahir, Craig Wallace (wk), Mark Watt, Brad Wheal