Scotland needed a victory to stay in the competition after Afghanistan loss
Scotland crashed out of the ICC World Twenty20 after an 11-run defeat against Zimbabwe in Nagpur.
Having
lost their opening match in Group B to Afghanistan, the Scots needed a
first-ever victory in the World Twenty20 - after winless stints in 2007
and 2009 - to remain in the competition.
Set
a target of 148, though, Scotland's top order collapsed and they were
eliminated with one game to spare in front of a sparse crowd at the VCA
Stadium.
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| Scotland crashed out of the competition after their top order struggled to match a target of 148 |
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| Attendance at the VCA Stadium was poor after fans were sent to ticketing facilities over 20km away |
Fans without tickets were turned away according to Cricinfo and asked to go to the old ground, 20km away, as there are no ticketing facilities available at the new 45,000 capacity stadium.
Those
who did make it in saw Zimbabwe opener Hamilton Masakadza crash his way
to 12 but a collision of a different kind led to his dismissal in the
third over.
Fellow
opener Vusi Sibanda set off for a single and, with both batsmen
ball-watching, they bumped helmets and Masakadza was run out.
Sibanda
needed medical attention after the incident and was clearly affected as
he clipped Alasdair Evans to deep square leg where Matt Machan was
waiting in the next over.
Michael
Leask then caught Richmond Mutumbami - at the second attempt - and
Sikandar Raza was bowled by Evans to leave Zimbabwe toiling on 67 for
four after 10 overs.
Sean
Williams, though, fired an impressive 53 from 36 balls to steady the
innings before being caught by Evans from the bowling of Safyaan Sharif.
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| Mark Watt and Alasdair Evans come to terms with their failure to win a World Twenty20 match for the first time |
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| Zimbabwe's Wellington Masakadza won the award for player of the match after taking four for 28 |
Elton
Chigumbura also offered some resistance but was caught for 20, with
Sharif claiming his second victim from the final ball of the innings as
Zimbabwe were restricted to 147 for seven.
Any
hopes Scotland had of a first win in a limited-overs tournament,
however, were extinguished when they lost George Munsey, Matthew Cross,
Machan and Kyle Coetzer within the first 19 balls.
Cross
was dismissed for a duck as Tendai Chatara and Wellington Masakadza
(four for 28) shared two wickets apiece to leave Scotland reeling on 20
for four.
Leask
was the next to go for just nine before Richie Berrington (36) and
captain Preston Mommsen (31) rallied to put on a sixth-wicket stand of
51.
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| Josh Davey, who took 24 from 13 balls, and Richie Berrington attempt to increase Scotland's haul in vain |
And
despite Josh Davey's quick-fire knock of 24 from 13 balls, Scotland
came up short and they now face Hong Kong on Saturday looking to end
their limited-overs hoodoo, but with hopes of going any further already
over.
