Pakistan have already qualified for the semis, and are the only unbeaten team in their group.

Pakistan v Scotland: Live scorecard

Pakistan win by 72 runs

Right then, a convincing win for Pakistan and they will face Australia in the semi-finals. That should be a humdinger in Dubai where batting first has been a nightmare. Australia’s quicks against Pakistan’s batters should decide that contest in my view. England will take on New Zealand in the other semi-final. Meanwhile, the big news today is India are out of the tournament. In case you are late to catch up, here’s a look at how their players fared in the tournament. That’s it from here today. Two dead rubbers tomorrow before the first semi-final on 10th.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over 18: Sco 108-5 –  Richie Berrington gets to his fifty

Berrington had a rather underwhelming tournament by his standards. He recorded three ducks in the T20 World Cup, but also hit the only two fifties by a Scotland player in this tournament. He’s a key batter for them, and his lack of runs has hurt them bigtime in the tournament.

Over 15.4: Sco 87-5 – Another one goes for Scotland

Shaheen back into the attack and cleans up Leask to further dent Scotland. This is heading towards a very expected end with Pakistan all set to top the group with zero losses. They will play Australia in the semi-finals with England taking on New Zealand. I am a tad surprised to see a very meek performance from Scotland to sign off from the tournament. Some very bizarre tactics with the ball, and then never really got going with the bat.

Over 14: Sco 75-4 – Pacers still going for runs

Hasan Ali and Haris Rauf leaked 16 and 10 runs respectively in their overs. The spinners are keeping Scotland quiet, but the Pakistan quicks haven’t quite nailed it. Hasan has been decent despite that 16-run over today. With Leask, who has been one of the most quickest scorers against pace this T20 World Cup, out there, this should be an interesting inside battle.

Shadab Khan in this T20 World Cup

v IND: 4-0-22-1

v NZ: 3-0-19-0

v AFG: 4-0-22-1

v NAM: 4-0-35-1

v SCO: 4-0-14-2

Shadab has had a very good tournament with the ball so far. His first real challenge might come in the semi-finals against Australia (most likely now) with Maxwell, Finch, Warner and Smith capable of taking down spin.

Over 11: Sco 43-4 – Shadab strikes twice

Shadab has been brilliant this tournament and here, after two and a half overs, he has conceded just six runs and sent back two batters. Scotland haven’t got runs on board and now look to be clueless against Shadab’s variations. Good move from Babar Azam to really apply the squeeze and bowl Imad and Shadab in tandem since the end of the powerplay.

Over 8: Sco 36-2 – A run out at the non-striker’s end

Matthew Cross caught napping at the non-striker’s end, just like Scotland have been for a large chunk of this game. Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan looking to strangle the batters in the middle overs. Tough ask for Scotland to even get to 150 here unless Munsey can really take off.

Over 6: Sco 24-1 – Scotland lose their first

Kyle Coetzer is out bowled for the sixth time in seven matches this T20 World Cup. That’s a shocker for an opener for certain. More importantly, in the context of this game, Scotland have had a very ordinary start. Time for Pakistan to try out their bowling options in different roles maybe?

Over 4: Sco 20-0 – All intent and no results

Imad has been brilliant with his lines, denying the aggressive Scottish openers any room. Munsey’s reverse sweeps don’t work either. A lot of intent from the two openers, but very little has worked so far. They have either found the fielders or mis-hit the shots.

Over 2: Scotland 11-0 – Intent early on, but not great results

Munsey found the fence off Shaheen Afridi and Coetzer slammed Imad Wasim for another. But overall, Scotland just have 11 on board at the end of two overs despite showing good intent. Maximising the powerplay is crucial for them to even think of getting close to Pakistan’s total.

Over to Scotland’s response now. This will take some chasing against this Pakistan attack.

Pakistan in the last over of their batting innings this T20 World Cup:

v IND: 17 runs
v NZ: 9 runs (needed 9 from 12)
v AFG: 24 runs
v NAM: 24 runs
v SCO: 26 runs

End of innings: Pak 189-4 – Shoaib Malik hits an 18-ball fifty

Last over by a spinner and Malik, already in good form with the earlier tactic, does not miss out. Pakistan have put on a formidable total thanks to a ridiculously good, well-helped, cameo from Malik. 85 runs in the last six overs for Pakistan. Outrageous finish for them yet again.

Over 18: Pak – 146-4 – Puzzling tactics from Scotland

It’s odd that teams are feeding spin to Malik when he is good at just that. He has a strike-rate in the 160s against spin this T20 World Cup, and a strike-rate in the 80s against pace, but he has faced just half the number of balls against pace. Despite the pitch factor, spin to Malik is too risky. Meanwhile, Babar was gone slogging that over. Can Asif and Malik do some major damage in these last two overs?

But, of course, it is Shoaib Malik and not Asif Ali walking in. Bizarre thinking.

Over 15: Pak – 112-3 – Hafeez takes off before being dismissed

Some momentum to this innings with Mohammad Hafeez finding the urgency that this innings sorely needed. Sharif was a bit all over the place and Hafeez clubbed some really good shots before being trapped in front off the last ball. A six and two fours in the over and they now have a good base to kick on from. Perfect entry point for Asif Ali.

Over 13: Pak 87-2  – Pakistan’s batting approach

To emphasize my point about slow starts, Pakistan have lost just five wickets inside the first 10 overs in this T20 World Cup across all five games. Yet, their team strike-rate is just a shade over 100 in this first half of the batting innings. They have been saved by having underwhelming totals to chase and in one game by Asif Ali’s heroics. They really need to kick on in these next few overs.

Update: Fakhar is gone slogging to the deep. This was on the cards after his slow start. He put himself under pressure and eventually holed out.

Over 9: Pak 56-1 – Fakhar happy to play second-fiddle

This is where Pakistan will likely be challenged by stronger bowling teams. They finished the powerplay with just 34 runs despite going wicketless. With a wicket gone early and Babar happy to anchor through an innings, the role of players like Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Hafeez will be crucial to ensure Pakistan don’t end up making underwhelming totals on good batting decks. Fakhar’s off to a slow start today while Babar has stepped on the gas a little bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Update: Hamza Tahir returns and strikes first ball. It was very odd to see him taken off the attack after that excellent first over. He strikes here to break the stand.

Over 6: Pak 34-0 – Wicketless powerplay

Safyaan Sharif has the best economy rate in the powerplay overs this T20 World Cup (among bowlers to bowl at least seven overs in the powerplay) -4.52. He has also picked up five wickets in the first six overs in the process. No wickets today, though, as the two Pakistan openers continue their one-sided show.m

Over 4: Pak 18-0 – Babar dropped

Mark Watt shells a tough return catch off Babar Azam. It was hit pretty hard and honestly a really tough take, but it’s worth noting the effect of these two left-arm spinners against these two. Also, in case you missed it, Babar was quick to check with Watt if his hand was fine. All class from the Pakistan skipper.

Over 3: Pak 14-0 – Confusing tactics

That first over from Hamza Tahir was so good, which makes it really bizarre that Scotland went back to Sharif instead of continuing with Hamza. For now, it is Babar-Rizwan still on, and I have been on live each time the two put on big stands this T20 World Cup. Not that I mind watching these two – they are ridiculously good to watch – but the varying tactics by teams against them has sort of played into their hands in my view.

Over 1: Pak 1-0 – A match up bowler first up

Scotland seemed to have prepared well to break this opening stand early and Hamza Tahir, who is playing his first game in this T20 World Cup, is their answer. The left-arm spinner is a clear match-up bowler. 18 of his 20 T20 wickets are of right-handers.

Babar-Rizwan strangle again?

Bradley Wheal and Safyaan Sharif have been impressive in the powerplay overs and Scotland will hope they can avoid the long Rizwan-Babar strangle that a couple of teams have suffered already this tournament. Actually, an early wicket or two could help Pakistan test their depth too ahead of the knockout game. But, Babar and Rizwan love batting, and are arguably the best when it comes to wicket preservation in T20 cricket at the moment. Should Scotland start with spin and throw Mark Watt the new ball like they did against India?

Playing XIs

Scotland: George Munsey, Kyle Coetzer (c), Matthew Cross (wk), Richie Berrington, Dylan Budge, Michael Leask, Chris Greaves, Mark Watt, Hamza Tahir, Safyaan Sharif, Bradley Wheal

Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi

Pakistan win the toss and opt to bat first

At Sharjah in the Super 12s

Bat first – 5 matches won

Bat second – 3 matches won

The semi-finalists confirmed, but can Scotland cause a stir?

The update from Abu Dhabi is that New Zealand have won by eight wickets against Afghanistan and made their way to the semi-finals alongside Pakistan, who play Scotland tonight. What’s not confirmed is who these teams will face in the semi-finals. That will be decided by this contest between Pakistan and Scotland. Unless we see a major surprise, it should be Pakistan v Australia and England v New Zealand in the semis.

Can Scotland make a difference to that on their way out of the tournament? I wouldn’t rule it out considering it’s Pakistan, who my colleague Ben Gardner thinks will be better placed to lose a game before the semi-finals.

Toss coming up soon.

T20 World Cup 2021 Pakistan v Scotland: Preview

Pakistan have been on a roll, winning all four games in the edition thus far. They started with a fine 10-wicket win against India and went on to register convincing wins against New Zealand, Afghanistan and Namibia as well. Scotland, on the other hand, are still waiting for their first win of the competition.

T20 World Cup 2021 PAK v SCO: Team news and injury updates

Pakistan are unlikely to make any changes to their XI and tinker with a winning combination. They have no injury concerns at the moment.

T20 World Cup 2021 Pakistan: Full team list for PAK

Scotland saw the return of skipper Kyle Coetzer after a hand injury against New Zealand, and he played against India as well. They have no injury concerns, although Michael Jones has replaced Joshua Davey.

T20 World Cup 2021 Scotland: Full team list for SCO

T20 World Cup 2021, Pakistan v Scotland: Where to watch live

India: Star Sports Network: Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 Hindi HD, Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports 1 Telugu, Star Sports 1 Kannada; Disney+ Hotstar

UK & Ireland: Sky Sports Cricket, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Mix; Sky Sports app, www.skysports.com

Pakistan: PTV Sports, Daraz app (also www.daraz.pk)

The complete list of broadcast (TV and live streaming) options for the tournament can be found here.