Records tumble as Afghanistan dismantle Scotland in Sharjah

Records tumbled as Afghanistan dismantled Scotland in Sharjah to cruise to a massive 130-run win and kickstart their World Cup campaign on a high. It was Afghanistan's biggest win in T20Is as Scotland were bundled for a mere 60 in 10.2 overs. Mujeeb Ur Rahman starred with a five-wicket haul in his first game in a T20 World Cup whereas Rashid Khan returned 4 for 9 on Monday (October 25). After the batsmen put up 190 - Afghanistan's highest total in T20 World Cups, the spin duo ensured Scotland's chase was derailed early.

Scotland were 36/5 without Rashid Khan even coming into the attack... What?

Mujeeb Ur Rahman showed why he's a force to reckon with in T20 cricket with a triple strike in his second over after George Munsey made a promising start. Munsey had come out with a plan to target the short off-side boundary by playing the reverse sweep. He did for a lot of the three overs before a procession began. Mujeeb's googlies were tough to read and successful in giving Afghanistan the perfect start.

...struck immediately, of course. None of the Scottish batsmen were able to read the wrong 'uns as four in the middle order returned ducks on the night. Rashid finished with 4-9, while only one wicket fell to pace as Naveen-ul-Haq eked out an edge off Matthew Cross earlier. That 25 was the highest score for a Scotland batsman and and a line-up with five ducks sums up their innings.

Scotland conceded 2 runs in the first and third over. Despite that Afghanistan scored the fastest fifty...

Four bowlers bowled in the powerplay for Scotland, and despite having kept Mohammad Shahzad honest for most part, they couldn't stop Hazratullah Zazai. He attacked from the onset and powered Afghanistan to 55 on the board in six overs despite Shahzad falling for 22. Before this game, Scotland had a powerplay economy rate of 5.40, which Afghanistan's openers made a mess of.

That the bowlers consistently missed their lengths early on. With Zazai attacking the shorter boundary on the leg side, they continued to bowl full and couldn't force him to play on the offside. Anything close to a fuller length was dispatched. Once Zazai was dismissed, they bowled into Najibullah and Rahmatullah's arcs, who added 87 runs in 52 balls for the third wicket. They bowled too many in the slot, conceding 54 off the final four overs. Only Mark Watt, the left-arm spinner, was able to control the power hitting on display, conceding just 23 in his four while the others went for plenty.

Exceptional. He ensured Zazai's wicket didn't slow things down. If anything, he went harder and cleared the leg-side boundary with ease. He struck three mighty sixes and five fours in his 34-ball 59. Afghanistan scored 63 runs in the final five, striking 11 sixes - the most in the tournament to get to 190.

Brief scores: Afghanistan 190/4 in 20 overs (Hazratullah Zazai 44, Gurbaz 46, Najibullah 59; Safyaan Sharif 2-33) beat Scotland 60 in 10.2 overs (George Munsey 25; Mujeeb Ur Rahman 5-20, Rashid Khan 4-9) by 130 runs.