‘Feels good when new guys perform’ – Sarfraz Ahmed
A comprehensive 84-run victory over Scotland in the second and final Twenty20 International in Edinburgh gave Pakistan a 2-0 series win and helped them end their tour of England, Ireland and Scotland on a positive note.
After winning the toss and batting first, Pakistan put up 166/6 courtesy an unbeaten 49 off just 22 balls by Shoaib Malik and a 25-ball 33 by Fakhar Zaman. The bowlers did job thereafter with Usman Khan (2/4) and Faheem Ashraf (3/6) leading the way as Scotland were bowled out for 82 in just 14.4 overs.
Pakistan did not have an imposing total on the board like in the first game, but they defended well.
A brilliant bowling performance from Pakistan sees them claim the T20I series against Scotland 2-0.
— ICC (@ICC) June 13, 2018
Fahim Ashraf took 3/5, Usman Khan took 2/4, and Shadab Khan took 1/17 as Pakistan won by 84 runs! #SCOvPAK SCORECARD 👇https://t.co/ZvislyYYz6 pic.twitter.com/2RBHgQjIr9
“I want to credit our bowling line-up to defend targets in such small grounds,” said Sarfraz Ahmed, the Pakistan captain, who returns having won the one-off Test in Ireland and split the two-Test series against England to go with the T20I series win in Scotland.
“Feels good when new guys perform well. The likes of Faheem Ashraf, Shadab (Khan), Hasan Ali, Hussain Talat … the way Usman Khan bowled, it feels good.”
While Khan had a decent outing with bat and ball, hitting a run-a-ball 17 and picking up 1/19, Talat scored 17 off 19 batting at No.3 and Ahmed Shehzad hit a 22-ball 24 at the top of the order.
Pakistan were also excellent on the field, effecting three run outs. “Fitness is really important in today's fast-paced cricket,” pointed out Ahmed. “We knew Scotland would come hard with the bat. We fielded really well. No praise is enough for this young team. Coaching staff worked hard too.”
Kyle Coetzer, the Scotland captain, conceded that it wasn’t an ideal day for the team. Scotland had created a big splash by beating England, the No.1-ranked ODI team, in an ODI over the weekend, but were found wanting against the No.1 T20I team.
“Wasn't an ideal day for us. Pakistan came out with a high-quality seam attack and the early wickets put us in trouble,” Coetzer said.
“They hit their lengths hard, the left-arm spinner (Mohammad Nawaz) mixed it up as well. Great opportunity to play the No.1 side in the world. This is where we want to be testing ourselves. Today we obviously struggled with our batting.”