ICC T20 WC: Can't count any team out in T20s, says Scotland skipper Coetzer
Oct 18, 2021
Muscat [Oman], October 18 : Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer stated that no team can't be counted out of the equation in the T20 format after stunning Bangladesh by six runs in the Group B encounter of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup here at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground (Ministry Turf 1) on Sunday.
Playing in just his second international, 31-year-old Chris Greaves was the star of the show with the bat and ball as Scotland beat Bangladesh in the second game of Round 1.
Scotland, who were 53/6 after 12 overs, fought back strongly to put up a challenging target of 141 for Bangladesh on the back of a 51-run stand between Chris Greaves and Mark Watt for the seventh wicket.
With the bat, Bangladesh were always behind the eight ball as Scotland bowled brilliantly to keep The Tigers at bay. In the end, the asking rate was too much for the lower-order batters as Scotland put two points on the board with a six-run win.
During the post-match presentation, Kyle Coetzer stated: "Credit to the Bangladesh bowlers, they showed high class skills. They did blow us away a bit. But you can't count any team out in T20s. We had a lot of belief in our batting depth, we do feel we can all hit the ball a long way. Greaves and Watt showed it."
"It was tricky, there was plenty of dew. I felt our fielders tackled it well apart from myself, all credit to them. It (lower order fightback) just shows that we can win a game from any position. We fought back with some great knocks and this is a great confidence builder. We understand that we have to play extremely well to beat sides," he said.
"We certainly didn't play to our full potential tonight against a good Bangladesh side. We'll do what we do after winning games, and maybe de-brief at some point tomorrow. Huge togetherness amongst our crowd. That's one of the most important things that we need when we want to get across the line under pressure. Everyone backs each other. Really proud of the guys. We continually keep proving to ourselves that we're capable," Scotland skipper pointed.
Chris Greaves who played a crucial 45-run knock and scalped two wickets was adjudged as the Player of the Match. In the post-match presentation, he stated: "We were in a tough situation. The thought was to rebuild and see where we can get from there. Unbelievable that I could be that person (to contribute), incredible. With the score on the board you got something to bowl at. The power-hitting right through our side is incredible. So yeah, once we got that total, with our bowling line-up, we backed it and... great game.
"It was my day. There would be many other days that any one of us could do well. Glad that I contributed. Incredible to be a Scottish cricketer today. So many words I could put to use. Enjoyable. Take one day at a time and hopefully many more wins to come," he added.
Scotland next face PNG on Tuesday, October 19, while Bangladesh take on co-hosts Oman in the second match of the same day.