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Rashid bemoans conditions after Scotland stun Afghanistan

Last Updated 05 March 2018, 11:12 IST

Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan bemoaned having the worst of the conditions, after Calum MacLeod struck a magnificent 157 not out to lead Scotland to a surprise seven-wicket win in their opening 2019 World Cup qualifier at Bulawayo.

Afghanistan, one of the pre-tournament favourites to qualify, made 255 all out batting first, but MacLeod hammered 23 fours and a six in his blistering 146-ball knock to lead Scotland to victory with 16 deliveries remaining.

"The wicket was difficult to bat on, it wasn't coming good onto the bat," said 19-year-old Rashid, the first-ever teenager to skipper a men's international side.

"Later on when the sun came out, it was totally different and it was quite easy to bat on. The toss is really important in these games, but that's not in our hands, there's nothing we can do about that."

Hosts Zimbabwe lead the early Group B table, though, after their 116-run thrashing of Nepal, while the United Arab Emirates and Ireland got off to winning starts in Group A against Papua New Guinea and the Netherlands respectively.

The 10 teams in Zimbabwe are fighting it out for only two places alongside the world's top eight ODI sides at next year's World Cup in England and Wales.

A famous Scotland win looked unlikely when 16-year-old Afghan leg-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman dismissed openers Matthew Cross and Kyle Coetzer inside the first six overs.

But Richie Berrington joined MacLeod at the crease as the pair put on a 208-run stand to see off Afghanistan and gain a measure of revenge for their narrow defeat by the same opposition at the 2015 World Cup.

"The standout (performance) for us today is MacLeod," said Scotland captain Coetzer.

"It was an unbelievable effort from him. It's a great start to the tournament but we will take every day as it comes."

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(Published 05 March 2018, 11:00 IST)

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