Scotland | Pakistan

Five-time winners Brazil needed a superb Vinicius Junior equaliser to draw 1-1 with Morocco in their opening game at the World Cup on Saturday as Scotland marked their return to the tournament after a 28-year absence with a nervy 1-0 victory over Haiti. On the first day to feature four matches at the 48-team tournament, Qatar won the first World Cup point in their history when Miro Muheim’s own goal earned the 2022 tournament hosts a 1-1 draw with Switzerland. The meeting of Brazil and 2022 semi-finalists Morocco at the MetLife Stadium just outside New York City was a clash of the teams ranked sixth and seventh in the world respectively. Ismael Saibari ran through to give Morocco a 21st-minute lead with a clever scoop in the Group C opener, but Vinicius produced a moment of magic to ensure Brazil came away with a point, cutting in from the left and unleashing a thunderous shot to level on 32 minutes. Brazil are chasing a record sixth World Cup title, 24 years after last lifting the trophy, but Saturday’s perf...

Dipendra Singh Airee hit an unbeaten 50 as Nepal saved their best for last to end their T20 World Cup campaign with a seven-wicket win over Scotland on Tuesday. Chasing 171 for victory, Nepal looked in trouble at 98-3 in the 14th over before Airee took the initiative in his 23-ball knock as his team achieved the target with four balls to spare in Mumbai. Airee put on 73 runs with Gulsan Jha, who made 24 not out, as Nepal earned their first win after three losses in Group C. Nepal’s fans erupted with joy at the Wankhede Stadium after seeing their team win for the first time in the tournament since 2014. “I want to thank the fans who came from Nepal and supported us, that gives a lot of motivation to all of us,” said player of the match Airee. “And in the last World Cup, we didn’t win a single match. So that’s why this win is very important for us.” It was Nepal’s first victory in the T20 World Cup since they beat Hong Kong and Afghanistan in the opening stage 12 years ago. Nepal had given England a mighty scar...

EDINBURGH: With new head coach Owen Dawkins at the helm, and under the captaincy of Richie Berrington, Scotland have named their squad for their seventh appearance at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Scotland have replaced Bangladesh at the global showpiece being staged jointly by India and Sri Lanka from Feb 7 to March 8. Bangladesh refused to play their World Cup matches in India due to security concerns amid political tensions between New Delhi and Dhaka. The European side had also participated in the inaugural edition of the tournament staged in 2007 in South Africa. Zainullah Ihsan is a first-time call-up, with the Afghan-born fast bowler having recently qualified to play for Scotland. Also in contention is former New Zealand international Tom Bruce, who will boost up their batting line-up. The 34-year-old Bruce has featured in 17 T20 Internationals for the Black Caps before he changed his allegiance to Scotland. Squad: Richie Berrington (captain), Tom Bruce, Matthew Cross, Bradley Currie, Oliver Davidson, C...

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday announced that Scotland would replace Bangladesh at the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in India next month. Bangladesh had announced on Jan 4 that it would not play its T20 World Cup matches in India after its player Mustafizur Rahman was released by his Indian Premier League (IPL) team amid growing tensions between the two countries. Subsequently, Bangladesh had “formally requested” the ICC to shift their games to Sri Lanka, which the council had rejected. However, Bangladesh had insisted it would not travel to India for the tournament. In the statement posted on its website on Saturday, the ICC stated that the decision was made in the absence of “any credible or verifiable security threat” to the Bangladesh national team in India. “Scotland has been called up to take Bangladesh’s place in Group C, joining England, Italy, Nepal and the West Indies,” the ICC announced. The ICC noted that Scotland, ranked the 14th-highest T20 team in the world, ...