Australia beat Scotland to top their group

The Australian men’s cricket team saw off a spirited challenge from Scotland in its ICC T20 World Cup 2024 Group B match at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Saint Lucia on Sunday to finish top of Group B.

Australia, the 2021 T20 World Cup Winners, finished undefeated in the group stage with eight points and will join India and Afghanistan in the Super 8. Either Bangladesh or the Netherlands will be the fourth team in the group.

The loss, meanwhile, eliminated Scotland from the tournament as they finished third in Group B behind England based on Net Run Rate. Both England and Scotland finished on five points.

Sent in to bat first, Scotland posted a healthy total of 180/5 in their allotted 20 overs thanks to a fantastic 34-ball 60 by Brandon McMullen and an unbeaten 42 off 31 by captain Richie Berrington. Opener George Munsey also chipped in with a handy 35-run knock.

A slew of dropped catches from the Aussies on the field only helped the Scottish cause. Glenn Maxwell was Australia’s top wicket-taker in the match with figures of 2/44 while Adam Zampa, Ashton Agar and Nathan Ellis scalped one wicket each.

Australia’s innings got off to a rocky start as the former champions lost three wickets with just 60 on the board before Marcus Stoinis joined Travis Head out in the middle and managed to steady the ship.

The two batted sensibly and took Australia past 100 in the 14th over before switching on the afterburners. While Head scored a classy 68 off 49, Stoinis went on a rampage to score 59 off just 29 deliveries to take home the Player of the Match award.

Though Head and Stoinis fell in the 16th and 17th overs, respectively, Tim David (24 off 14) and Matthew Wade (4 off 5) ensured Australia got past the finish line with a couple of balls to spare.

The Australian men’s cricket team will start its Super 8 campaign on Friday.

Australia vs Scotland T20 World Cup 2024 brief scores: Scotland 180/5 in 20 overs (Brandon McMullen 60; Glenn Maxwell 2/44) lost to Australia 186/5 in 19.4 overs (Travis Head 68, Marcus Stoinis 59; Mark Watt 2/34) by five wickets.

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