SCOTLAND SURVIVE LATE SCARE TO DEFEAT UAE IN SERIES OPENER
Scotland Men survived a late stutter against the UAE to open their series in the Netherlands with a three-wicket victory.
Set 226 to win following an impressive display with the ball, Scotland seemed to be easing to victory at 190-4, as George Munsey (78) and Brandon McMullen (58) both recorded half-centuries - but a fightback from the UAE saw the Scots slip to 201-7, before Mark Watt and Jack Jarvis saw their side over the line with 22 balls remaining.
It was a momentous day for Watt, who finished the game in style with a straight six, earlier becoming just the fourth Scottish man to record 200 wickets for their country, following Majid Haq, Craig Wright and Safyaan Sharif to the landmark.
Reflecting on the win, Scotland captain Richie Berrington said: "It probably wasn't our most convincing performance today, but it's really important to start the series off with a win, so we're pleased with that, but I think we know there's a few areas we can improve on going into the next game."
After being inserted by Scotland, Aryansh Sharma and Sagar Kalyan started positively for the UAE, adding 41 for the opening wicket - but it was the introduction of Charlie Cassell that brought the breakthrough, Kalyan (11) chopping on.
Sharma fell in the following over, lifting a McMullen delivery straight to Jasper Davidson at deep square leg, who held on comfortably.
Watt then struck with just his second ball, bowling Rahul Chopra (11) through the gate to mark his 200th Scotland wicket, and 100th ODI wicket.
Wickets continued to fall, as a dreadful mix-up in the middle between Vriitya Aravind and Alishan Sharafu saw the latter run out for six, and when Aravind (19) fell to Watt soon after, the UAE had slid to 89-5.
Muhammad Waseem and Dhruv Parashar were tasked with rebuilding the innings, frustrating Scotland for almost 20 overs as they added 78 for the sixth wicket, before Jarvis dismissed Parashar for 33.
Waseem reached his half-century from 63 deliveries, and took his side past 200, but came unstuck as he was bowled attempting to ramp Davidson.
Junaid Siddique was run out after good work from Cassell, before a late flurry from Sanchit Sharma lifted the UAE up to 225, the all-rounder falling to Davidson off the final delivery for an important 31-ball 39.
Scotland’s pursuit of 226 suffered an early blow as they lost Matthew Cross in just the second over, run out in unfortunate style as Sanchit Sharma deflected a Munsey drive onto the stumps at the non-strikers end.
Munsey and McMullen set about laying the platform for the run chase, Munsey getting into gear with a trademark whip over the leg-side for six, but it was McMullen who accumulated at the quicker rate.
McMullen reached his half-century from just 40 deliveries, but after striking Muhammad Jawadullah for another boundary, he fell the following ball, caught at mid-off by Chopra.
Berrington (5) departed cheaply as he was caught by Chopra looking to strike debutant Simranjeet Singh over the top, to leave Scotland 114-3.
Munsey and Finlay McCreath, also on debut, added 54 for the fourth wicket to stabilise the run chase, before Munsey fell for an excellent 78, caught on the leg-side boundary by Waseem off Singh.
Siddique then hauled the UAE back into the game with a double strike, bowling both McCreath (35) and Michael Leask (0) in the space of four balls to leave Scotland 190-6, still 36 away from victory.
When Sharma removed Chris McBride (9), Scotland were still 25 away from victory, with three wickets in hand - but Jarvis (16*) and Watt (14*) batted with calmness and poise to secure an important win for Scotland.
Scotland are back in action on home soil at Forfarshire CC from June 2 - 12 against Nepal and the Netherlands, with tickets on sale now!