SCO vs ENG 2018 - Scotland Creates World Record; Stuns England in a Run-Fest ODI

Before the start of the one-off ODI between Scotland and England, there would have been hardly any who had predicted the result to go in Scotland’s favour.

Ahead of the match, it was all about England and the margin of victory they were looking at before they square off against Australia in a five-match series. Scotland posted their highest ever ODI score (371) and held on to their nerves while bowling to seal a thrilling six-run victory.

Who would have even thought that this could transpire? Not many to be honest. I had written in my preview yesterday that England was not at their full strength and if they are sloppy, Scotland would pounce on to it and they did exactly that.

It will surely be a massive day in the Scotland cricket history who recently missed on a World Cup berth by a whisker.

Scotland had performed well coming into the match but narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 2019 World Cup. What made the last defeat more agonising against the Windies was that they lost a wicket just before the rain interval? Had they not lost the wicket, Scotland would have seen themselves playing in the World Cup. However, this victory will surely make up for the heartbreaking loss.

It was English skipper, Eoin Morgan who won the toss and opted to field. The opening duo of Matthew Cross and Kyle Coetzer began in a splendid fashion sharing a 102 runs stand for the opening wicket.

The partnership breakthrough came within the 14^th over. However, both the batsmen got dismissed within quick intervals. While Cross made 48 off 39 deliveries, Coetzer struck 58 off 49. Cross’ innings was studded with ten fours while Coetzer smashed eight fours and a couple of sixes.

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From there on, it was Calum MaclLeio who played the innings of his life. He was at his sublime best and treated the English bowlers with disdain.

Calum looked in wonderful touch and kept finding the boundaries on a consistent basis. His century came in rapid time. His innings was instrumental in helping Scotland go past the 350-mark. MacLeod eventually remained unbeaten on 140 off 94 deliveries which included 16 fours and three sixes.

George Munsey also struck a half-century, as Scotland finished their allotted 50 overs on 371/5. If England had chased the total down, it would have been their highest run-chase in their ODI history. They were very close but faltered in the final hurdle. It was Jonny Bairstow who got England off to a flying start. Jason Roy supported him well as the duo shared a 129-run partnership within the 13^th over.

Bairstow smashed some exceptional shots which put the Scots off a bit. However, Scotland knew they were defending a big total, and a turnaround can be just around the corner.

Bairstow got dismissed after making an exquisite 105 off 59 deliveries which studded with 12 fours and six sixes. Alex Hales also scored a fluent half-century. England looked in pursuit of the victory. However, they faltered following the dismissal of Joe Root. From 220/2, they got reduced to 276/7.

However, Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali kept them in the game with another brilliant partnership.

The duo shared an 81 runs partnership between them. However, the wicket of Moeen Ali again opened the floodgates for Scotland. Adil Rashid was dismissed in the form of a run-out. Liam Plunkett was still there at the crease, but the wicket of Mark Wood put an end to England’s resistance. It will surely rank as one of the greatest victories in Scotland cricket history.

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Brief Scores

Scotland 371/5 in 50 overs (Calum MacLeod 140*, Kyle Coetzer 58, Adil Rashid 2/72, Liam Plunkett 2/85)

England 365 all-out in 48.5 overs (Jonny Bairstow 105, Alex Hales 52, Mark Watt 3/55, Alasdair Evans 2/50)

Scotland won by six runs