T20 World Cup 2021: 4 hits and flops as New Zealand beat Scotland by 16 runs in Dubai

The Group 2 clash between New Zealand and Scotland saw the Williamson-led side beat the latter by 16 runs. The match took place at the Dubai International Stadium on November 3.

Kyle Coetzer, after winning the toss, sent the Kiwi batters to put a total on the scoreboard. New Zealand openers in Martin Guptill and Deryl Mitchell gave a solid start to their side, scoring 35 runs in the first four overs. However, an inspired 5th over from Safyaan Sharif saw him get two quick wickets, dismissing Mitchell and skipper Kane Williamson.

Mark Watt soon sent Devon Conway to the pavilion, knicking an edge from his bat. Despite a minor collapse, Martin Guptill stood in Scotland's way and struck them big. Glenn Phillips gave him good company, and the duo stitched up a massive partnership of 105 runs for the fourth wicket.

Guptill scored a grand knock of 93 in just 56 deliveries, smashing the ball seven times towards the stands. Phillips' 33 and Guptill's blistering 93 aided Black Caps to post a healthy 172 runs in the first innings. Safyaan Sharif and Bradley Wheal were the two picks of bowlers scalping two wickets each.

While chasing down the target, Kyle Coetzer hit a quadruple of boundaries before handing a catch to Southee in the third over. Notably, the last over of the powerplay by Adam Milne was an adventurous one, getting hit for five back-to-back boundaries courtesy of Matthew Cross.

However, since losing George Munsey, who was looking dangerous, the Scottish team never recovered and kept losing wickets regularly. Notwithstanding Michael Leask's quickfire 20-ball 42* at the fag end of the innings, Scotland fell short by 16 runs in the end.

Martin Guptill was adjudged Man of the Match for his commendable innings of 93 run and helping his side manage a comfortable total. On that note, let's look at two players who were hit in the encounter and two who were flops.

#4. Flop - Ish Sodhi (New Zealand)

India v New Zealand - ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021

Man of the Match in the Ind-NZ tie, Ish Sodhi certainly didn't have the best of his games against Scotland. The tall right-arm leg-spinner was sent around the park by the Scottish batters. Although Sodhi picked up two wickets in the match, he largely looked like a below-par version of himself.

George Munsey smashed Sodhi for two consecutive sixes in his first, but was unfortunate to mistime a juicy full-toss straight to mid-on. The Ludhiana-born leggie, then, leaked as many as 17 runs in his last over, where Leask hit him for a - 2,6,4,4.

Sodhi gave up 42 runs in total in his quota of four overs and ended up with a figure of 4-042-2.

#3. Hit - Tim Southee (New Zealand)

New Zealand v Scotland - ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021

Tim Southee is the kind of bowler who sometimes goes unnoticed, especially in the shortest format of the game. It was the same case for the right-arm quick today as well.

Though Southee only picked up a solitary wicket of Matthew Cross, he was found difficult to hit by the Scottish batters. The 32-year-old manifested his experience in the 11th over. He set-up Cross for the first four deliveries and angled the ball straight into his stumps.

Tim Southee was the second most economical bowler, behind Santner for the Kiwis today. In his four overs, the speedster was thrifty enough to leak only 24 runs. In his first three, Southee gave away only 12 runs.

The right-arm pacer ended up with a figure of 4-24-0-1, and was good enough to keep the Scottish batters at bay.

#2. Flop - Alasdair Evans (Scotland)

Alasdair Evans replaced in-form Josh Davey, who was out with a niggle, for the New Zealand encounter. It was Evans' second appearance in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021.

Unfortunately for the 31-year-old, he found himself on the receiving end of Martin Guptill's blistering batting. Guptill smashed three boundaries and three sixes against Evans' right-arm pace bowling.

With a massive economy of almost 12 runs per over, Evans didn't even contribute to getting a breakthrough for his side. The Kent-born bowler leaked as many as 42 runs in his quota of four overs and ended up with a figure of 4-0-42-0.

#1. Hit - Martin Guptill (New Zealand)

The veteran Kiwi opener manifested an awe-inspiring masterclass in Dubai today. Guptill, with his sheer batting prowess, smashed 93 runs off 56 balls to take New Zealand to a challenging total of 171/5 in the first innings.

The 35-year-old who heaved maximum balls towards the on-side, smashed six boundaries and seven sixes during his 56-ball knock. He added 105 runs in 73 deliveries with Glenn Phillips (33 off 37 balls) after New Zealand were reduced to 52 for 3 just after the powerplay.

With his ferocious knock against Scotland, Guptill added a couple of feathers to his illustrious cap. When completed 24 out of his 93 runs, the right-hander became only the second second batter to amass 3000 runs in the Men's T20Is. India skipper Virat Kohli was the first to score 3,000 in the shortest format of the game.

His 93 is also the second highest score for any New Zealander in the T20 World Cups.