Berrington’s 70 takes Scotland to 165-9 against PNG in T20 World Cup

Al Amerat (Oman), Oct. 19 (PTI): All-rounder Richie Berrington smashed a stroke-filled 70 to power Scotland to a competitive 165 for nine against Papua New Guinea in a Group B match of the ICC men’s T20 World Cup here on Tuesday.

Berrington slammed three sixes along with six hits to the fence during his 49-ball stay as he put on 92 runs off 65 balls with Matthew Cross (45) before adding another 33 with Calum MacLeod (10).

However, PNG did put brakes on scoring as they conceded only 19 runs in the final three overs taking six wickets in the process.

Kabua Morea (4/31) and Chad Soper (3/24) were the standout bowlers for PNG.

Opting to bat, Goerge Munsey smashed three fours to give Scotland a flying start but Morea castled skipper Coetzer at the other end in the third over to deal the first blow.

Munsey too perished soon while trying to muscle a delivery from Soper as Scotland slipped to 26 for 2 in 3.4 overs.

Cross and Berrington then steadied the innings as Scotland reached 67 for two in 10 overs.

Berrington was the main aggressor as he pulled one from Soper for a boundary before dancing down the track and depositing Lega Siaka over long-on for a maximum.

He also treated Charles Amini with disdain, pulling him through the square leg region for another four.

Cross then slogswept Amini over deep mid-wicket to bring up their 50-run partner.

Berrington also matched his partner with another six over over long-off.

Nosaina Pokana was then in the line of fire as Berrington and Cross milked him for 18 runs with the help of two fours and a six as Scotland crossed the 100-mark in 13 overs.

Simon Atai broke the partnership when he had Cross caught at deep mid-wicket in the 15th over.

However, it made no difference as MacLeod joined hands with Berrington and got 15 runs off Morea.

Berrington then slammed Soper over long-on for another maximum to accumulate 11 runs off the over.

PNG, however, made amends in the last three overs with Pokana bowling a tight over and Soper striking twice in three balls, removing Macleod and Berrington. In the last over, Michael Leask hit a six but PNG picked up four wickets to keep things in check.