Bowlers, Usman help Pakistan ease past Scotland to get their first World Cup win

Pakistan breezed past Scotland on a difficult Harare surface as they won the game by six wickets and almost seven overs to spare. 

Ali Raza, Momin Qamar spearhead the rout

Pacer Ali Raza pushed the first domino by dismissing two Scotland U19’s batters in the opening over. After that, the team could hardly contain the rot, despite some resistance shown down the order by Ollie Jones, Manu Saraswat, and Finlay Jones.

Raza, along with wristspinner Momin Qamar, was unstoppable as the two shared seven wickets between them, halting Scotland for a low total. Initially, Scotland were seemed primed to finish with an even more unacceptable target; however, a 58-run seventh wicket partnership got them to a somewhat respectable total. 

Batting first on a pace-friendly surface, Scotland were never expected to end with a massive target. However, Pakistan bowlers made them struggle for each run they added to the board. That is why, despite surviving until the 49th over, the team could not even cross 200. 

Bumpless chase

Pakistan's openers took the chase slowly, though that did not work as they fell within the first 12 overs. However, their No. 3 batter, Usman Khan, along with Ahmed Hussain managed the bulk of the target by scoring 75 and 47 respectively. 

Ahmed, who was just three runs away from what would have been his first World Cup fifty, played a faulty reverse sweep shot on his way out. After him, captain Farhan Yousaf came in for a quickfire 18-run cameo off 11 balls to seal the win. 

This was Pakistan’s first win in this ODI World Cup, having lost their opening game to England on Friday. 

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