Singapore upset defending champions Scotland in last-ball thriller

VIEW MATCH CENTRE

Singapore, who are No.21 on the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Team Rankings, had defeated Zimbabwe and Nepal in the run-up to the tournament, and added another big scalp to their collection by pulling off a thrilling last-ball win at the ICC Academy Ground A in Dubai on Friday, 18 October.

Chasing 169, Scotland needed eight runs in the last over with four wickets in hand. Captain Amjad Mahmood, though, kept his cool, taking the wickets of the dangerous Calum MacLeod and Safyaan Sharif, while Alasdair Evans was run out on the last ball. The two-run win sparked scenes of delight and reminded opposing teams of Singapore's threat in the competition.

"[The win] opens that group wide open," Preston Mommsen, former Scotland captain and commentator for the tournament, told ICC. "Everyone thought Scotland were an absolute shoo-in [to qualify] – they probably had the easier of the two groups. It'll give a lot of other teams a lot of confidence playing Scotland in future games."

Selladore Vijayakumar, who took 3/16, was Player of the Match. But Singapore also had Surendran Chandramohan to thank, for rescuing the side from 7/2 after being put in. Opener Chandramohan struck two sixes in his 55-ball 51.

He had good support from Aritra Dutta, who smashed three sixes in a brisk 15-ball 32 to give the innings momentum. Useful knocks from the middle order took them to 168/6.

In reply, George Munsey used the reverse sweep to good effect, taking on Vinoth Baskaran for a six and two fours in the same over. He combined with Kyle Coetzer in a strong opening stand of 70 in just 7.4 overs.

Singapore had a scare when Janak Prakash was struck on his follow through; fortunately, the bowler was treated for a cut and cleared to take the field after a short break.

Vijayakumar's off-spin and spectacular catching by Tim David put Singapore back in the game. With Coetzer the third wicket to fall, Scotland went from 111/2 to 125/5. MacLeod kept his side in the game and Tim Sole struck a couple of fours, but Amjad's final over sealed a famous win for the Asian side.

"[Scotland] would have approached this tournament with the mindset of 'anything can happen'," Mommsen added. "In qualifying tournaments these things happen. It's about being able to adapt and overcoming those challenges when they do arrive."