AFG VS SCO - 17th Match, Super 12 Group 2, ICC Mens T20 World Cup 2021

Scotland might have entered the Super 12s on the back of three consecutive wins, but tonight they have got a real taste of this tournament. Such a crushing loss might dent their confidence, so it'll be interesting to see how they bounce back. Meanwhile, Afghanistan will be riding high on confidence, but they need not get carried away. If they continue to play the same brand of cricket, rest of the teams in this group need to be wary of them. Their spin attack is definitely one of the best in this tournament. On that note, this is Nikhil signing off on behalf of Akshay Maanay, Sagar Chawla, Raju Peethala and Vinod Kumar. See you tomorrow for the double-header as South Africa take on West Indies in the afternoon clash. And New Zealand face Pakistan in the evening encounter. Hopefully they're not as one-sided as the ones we've seen so far. Goodbye and good night!

Mohammad Nabi | Afghanistan captain: It's important to win at the start of the tournament. This was our plan, to bat first and post a big total. Both the openers started well, we finished the powerplay on a good note. The running between the wickets was good, we rotated the strike really well and Najib played well to help as post such a big total. The world knows we have some good spinners in the form of Rashid and Mujeeb, they've played everywhere in the world. We have a very good team combination. When we play the local tournaments, I, Mujeeb and Rashid are the most expensive bowlers. Mujeeb is playing his first T20 World Cup match and he got the Player of the Match award, that's good to see, it's fantastic.

Kyle Coetzer | Scotland captain: Clearly wasn't one of our better days. We have been playing some really good cricket but sometimes things don't go according to plan. This is a very good Afghanistan team with very good bowlers and this was a slightly tricky pitch and they bowled fantastically, so need to give credit to them. But Watt bowled well for us today, he was brilliant. We fought hard in the field, it's just a level check where the standards are. We got a bunch of players and we'll try to reflect that and get ready for the next game. The belief in the players is the key. The last thing we want is the guys to go back to the hotel and slip away into their rooms. I don't think they'll do that, as a group we'll sit together, take it in our stride, have a chat and try to bounce back.

Stats brought to you by Deepu Narayanan

Lowest totals in T20 WC
39 Net v SL Chittagong 2014
44 Net v SL Sharjah 2021
55 WI v Eng Dubai 2021
60 NZ v SL Chittagong 2014
60 Sco vs Afg Sharjah 2021

Biggest wins in T20 WCs (by runs)
172 SL vs Ken Joburg 2007 
130 SA vs Sco The Oval 2009 
130 Afg vs Sco Sharjah 2021 
116 Eng vs Afg Cololmbo 2012

- Nine batters dismissed bowled or LBW in the Scotland innings - most ever in a T20I.

Biggest wins for AFG in T20Is (by runs)
130 vs Sco Sharjah 2021
106 vs Ken Sharjah 2013
84 vs Ire Dehradun 2019

Five LBW dismissals in a T20I innings
Net vs SL Sharjah 2021
Sco vs Afg Sharjah 2021

Mujeeb Ur Rahman: Very happy that we won our first match. This is my first World Cup game and I won the Man of the Match. The fans bring in a lot of energy and that's why we played positive cricket tonight.

And following that carnage by the Afghan batters, Mujeeb Ur Rahman single-handedly destroyed Scotland as he blew away the top-order and the middle-order. The mystery spinner was simply unplayable as he claimed five wickets and four of them came in the powerplay. Scotland could never recover from those blows as Rashid Khan cleaned up the tail and they fell short of the target by a massive margin of 130 runs. They'll be hurt after this loss, and things will only get tougher as they got to face New Zealand, Pakistan and India in the upcoming days. Let's hear what the Player of the Match - Mujeeb has to say..

20:55 Local Time | 22:25 IST: England beat West Indies comfortably on Saturday, it was a clinical 10-wicket victory for Pakistan against India last night and Afghanistan have absolutely thrashed Scotland in this match. So, we've had three one-sided contests on three consecutive nights to start off the Super 12s of T20 World Cup 2021. It was a fantastic performance by Afghanistan though as everything they touched turned to gold. Opting to bat first, Zazai and Shahzad got them to a fantastic start, while Gurbaz and Najibullah walked in next and played superb knocks to help their team post a massive total of 190. A few of the sixes hit by Zazai, Gurbaz and Najibullah would have easily cleared any ground in the world. That was some ferocious and clean striking to be honest.

Rashid Khan to Wheal, out Bowled!! Afghanistan beat Scotland by 130 runs! Rashid welcomes the new batter with a googly and Wheal has no clue about it. Fails to read it as the ball sneaks through his gates and strikes timber. Rashid Khan finishes with four wickets as Afghanistan clinch their biggest win in T20Is, in terms of the victory margin. Wheal b Rashid Khan 0(1)

Rashid Khan to Wheal, THATS OUT!! Bowled!!

Bradley Wheal, right handed bat, comes to the crease

Rashid Khan to Davey, out Lbw!! Another one bites the dust as Scotland are nine down. The wrong 'un by Rashid Khan on a slightly shorter length and Davey gets beaten as he tries to play the reverse swipe. Misses it, gets struck in front of the middle stump and it's crashing into the leg-stump, reckon the replays. What a one-sided contest this is proving to be.. Davey lbw b Rashid Khan 4(7)

Rashid Khan to Davey, THATS OUT!! Lbw!!

Davey has been adjudged lbw and he has decided to challenge the onfield call. Rather than reviewing this one, they should have reviewed Greaves' dismissal as he might have survived. But this looks plumb, so it isn't going to help. Yes, three reds and the batsman will have to walk back to the pavilion..

Drinks are on the field now.. Only the final rites remain in this game. Mujeeb killed Scotland's hopes within the powerplay and Rashid joined in to inflict more damage. It is just a matter of how long now

Karim Janat to Davey, 1 run, shortens the length, Davey pulls towards mid-wicket and it is only a single