Sharif helps Scotland salvage last-gasp tie

A 41-ball 81 from Paul Stirling and useful knocks from Gary Wilson and Kevin O'Brien got Ireland close after Kyle Coetzer's half-century and solid contributions from George Munsey and Calum MacLeod had powered Scotland to 185 for 4. However, there was no winner in a see-saw battle in which Ireland brought down the equation to 7 off the final over but Safyaan Sharif held his nerve to concede only six as the game ended in a thrilling tie at Sportpark Het Schootsveld in Deventer on Sunday (June 17).

With both teams sharing points, Ireland have ended their set of matches in the tri-series with three points, one short of the top-placed Netherlands. The last two games of the series, between Scotland and Netherlands, would determine the final standings with the Dutch needing one victory to seal the top spot.

Stirling was positive from the outset in the chase, coming up with plenty of hits to the ropes and clearing it thrice within the powerplay. But there was lack of support from the other end as James Shannon and Andy Balbirnie fell cheaply. With the team at 40 for 2 after five overs, Stirling finally found an able partner in Simi Singh as they kept Ireland in the hunt with a 68-run stand for the third wicket, with the former doing most of the boundary scoring. Scotland, though, forced their way back into the game by removing the set batsmen in successive overs, with Stirling getting out to Hamza Tahir after striking two sixes off the bowler.

The game leaned towards Ireland when Wilson and O'Brien put on a 39-run stand. Stu Whittingham gave Scotland a boost with the wicket of Wilson in the 18th over but O'Brien's six off Chris Cole in the 19th over helped Ireland edge ahead. Sharif, however, balanced it out by removing the dangerous O'Brien off the first ball of the final over. Stuart Poynter and Stuart Thompson couldn't pull it off with the latter scoring two off the final delivery with three required for victory.

Earlier, Coetzer and George Munsey dealt in a flurry of boundaries to set the tone for the first innings after Scotland opted to bat. Apart from the opening over, in which Simi Singh conceded only six, not a single over in the powerplay yielded less than 10 as the Scotland openers, with 11 fours and two sixes, powered their team to 73 for 0 at the end of the first six overs. They extended their partnership to 93 before Munsey's quick-fire outing came to an end when he fell to George Dockrell four short of a half-century.

Ireland bowlers managed to keep things quiet for a few overs which set up the next dismissal as Coetzer, in his attempt to take on Simi Singh, was caught at the deep soon after bringing up his third T20I fifty. Michael Leask followed a short while later, being run out for four. Calum MacLeod and Matthew Cross put on a brisk-39-run association that helped Scotland make up for the brief lull but the latter fell in the penultimate over. At 179 for 4 after 19, Scotland would have hoped to get close to the 200-run mark but that was not to be as they could add only six runs in the final over with Chase keeping it tight.

Brief scores: Scotland 185/4 in 20 overs (Kyle Coetzer 54, Calum MacLeod 46*, George Munsey 46; Simi Singh 1-34) vs Ireland 185/6 in 20 overs (Paul Stirling 81, Kevin O' Brien 28; Safyaan Sharif 2-31) Match tied.