Scotland knock Zimbabwe out of World Cup 2023 race
Days after the West Indies faced heartbreak, Zimbabwe have been knocked out of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup. Scotland stunned the Zimbabweans in the CWC Qualifiers in Bulawayo. Scotland successfully defended 234 after bowling out Zimbabwe for 203. Ryan Burl's 83-run knock went in vain. Like WI, who also lost to Scotland, Zimbabwe won't feature in the 50-over tournament in India this year.
How did the match pan out?
Zimbabwe won the toss and invited Scotland to bat. Openers Cross and Christopher McBride gave Scotland a nice start. However, Sean Williams ran through their batting order. A late rescue from Michael Leask and Mark Watt helped Scotland post 234/8. Zimbabwe, being reduced to 91/5, lost both Williams and Sikandar Raza. Although Burl added 83, Chris Sole, Brandon McMullen, and Leask powered Scotland's win.
Williams takes a three-fer
Williams came into action when Scotland were cruising forward. He outfoxed Matthew Cross with a quicker delivery and castled him. He then got the big wicket of McMullen as the batter mistimed his slog sweep and handed a catch to Blessing Muzarabani. Lastly, he dismissed Richie Berrington, who tried to tonk him for a six only to find Innocent Kaia at long-off.
Burl's 83 goes in vain
Burl came to the crease when the hosts were 37/4 in eight overs. He added 54 runs with Raza to steady the ship, but unfortunately, Raza departed soon after. Later, he stitched a 73-run partnership with Wesley Madhevere, taking Zimbabwe beyond the 160-run mark. Burl finally departed for an 84-ball 83, a knock laced with 8 fours and 1 six.
Sole takes three wickets
Sole was the pick of Scotland's bowlers in the match. His spell with the new balls destroyed Zimbabwe's top order. Overall, he registered bowling figures of 3/33 in seven overs. McMullen and Leask picked up two wickets each. The former was the most economical bowler of the match (Scotland) as he conceded just 31 runs in eight overs.
Sole has aced the Powerplay
As per Opta, Sole has picked eight wickets in the powerplay overs in the ongoing CWC Qualifiers. He has the most such wickets in the tournament along with teammate McMullen.
Zimbabwe knocked out!
Two of the three Full-Member sides have been knocked out of the upcoming ICC World Cup in India. Notably, Scotland tamed both Zimbabwe and West Indies in the Super Six stage. Notably, Sri Lanka have already qualified for the tournament, having won four matches. Now, either Scotland or the Netherlands can earn the remaining berth. Bottom-placed Oman have also been knocked out.
