On Friday, Afghanistan kicked off their T20 World Cup preparations with a dominant 55-run win against Scotland in a warm-up match in Port of Spain.
Afghanistan chose to bat first and scored 178/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Gulbadin Naib stood out, scoring 69 runs off just 30 balls. Azmatullah Omarzai, who scored 48 runs off 36 balls, and skipper Rashid Khan, who contributed a quick 15 off seven balls, backed him up.
In response, Scotland struggled against Afghanistan’s disciplined bowling attack, scoring only 123/9. Mujeeb ur Rahman and Karim Janat were the outstanding bowlers, each getting two wickets. Naveen ul Haq, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharote, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Gulbadin Naib took wickets, halting Scotland’s pursuit. Despite the efforts of George Munsey (28 off 18 balls) and Mark Watt (34 off 25 balls), Scotland fell short by 55 runs.
Afghanistan is scheduled to play its first T20 World Cup encounter against Uganda on Tuesday, June 4. Scotland will play England in Barbados on the same day.
