Scotland beat Bangladesh off the final ball of their Hong Kong Sixes opener when Jack Jarvis hit a six with four runs needed, BDCricTime reported on Friday.
The defeat in the Bangladesh vs Scotland Hong Kong Sixes match means Bangladesh started their campaign with a loss, even after posting 94 for 5 in their six overs.
Two features of the short format shaped the finish. Opener Finlay McCreath was forced off the field once he reached a half-century. Scotland then declared two batters retired out so that he could come back, according to BDCricTime. Earlier, Bangladesh's innings had stalled in the middle after a 26-run opening over.
Why Finlay McCreath retired and then returned to bat
McCreath scored 53 off 20 balls and carried Scotland's chase to within touching distance of victory, BDCricTime reported.
Under Hong Kong Sixes rules, a batter must retire after scoring a half-century. McCreath had to leave the field once he reached the milestone.
Scotland then used the regulations to their advantage. After Mackenzie Jones was dismissed, they declared their next two batters retired out. That cleared the way for McCreath to return to the crease, according to BDCricTime.
The report does not say who was batting with whom in the final overs. It states only that McCreath came back and that Jarvis hit the winning six from the last ball, with four runs required.
How Habibur Rahman Sohan's first over gave Bangladesh 26 runs
Scotland chose to field, and Bangladesh sent in Sabbir Rahman and Habibur Rahman Sohan to open.
Sohan hit a six off the very first ball of the match. He then gave the strike to Sabbir, who also got off the mark with a six, BDCricTime reported.
The pair kept clearing the boundary, and the opening over yielded 26 runs. Sohan scored 19 of them.
His innings ended after six balls when Jasper Davidson caught him near the boundary. Sohan made 25, including four sixes.
Bangladesh vs Scotland cricket: 13 balls without a boundary
Chowdhury Md Rizwan came in next and took a single off his first ball, which put Sabbir back on strike. Sabbir then tried to clear the boundary and was caught for 8 off 4 deliveries, according to BDCricTime.
That left the innings in the hands of Rizwan and Ahrar Amin Piyan, and neither of the young batters could lift the scoring. Piyan made 7 off 6 balls and Rizwan 3 off 6. Bangladesh went 13 balls without a boundary during this period, BDCricTime reported.
The fourth wicket fell at 48. Captain Abu Hider Rony then tried to rebuild the innings alongside Mrittunjoy Chowdhury.
Rony made a quickfire 25 off 9 balls before he was dismissed. Mrittunjoy was left to face most of the remaining deliveries on his own and finished unbeaten on 21 off 6 balls.
Bangladesh closed their six overs on 94 for 5. Sohan and Rony shared top score with 25 apiece.
- Habibur Rahman Sohan: 25 off 6 balls, four sixes
- Abu Hider Rony: 25 off 9 balls
- Mrittunjoy Chowdhury: 21 not out off 6 balls
- Sabbir Rahman: 8 off 4 balls
- Ahrar Amin Piyan: 7 off 6 balls
- Chowdhury Md Rizwan: 3 off 6 balls
Mrittunjoy's dot balls fail to stop Scotland's chase
Scotland went after the target from the start and took 19 runs from the first over of their reply, BDCricTime reported.
Mrittunjoy pulled Bangladesh back into the contest with the ball. He opened the second over with four consecutive dot balls and put the Scotland batters under pressure.
McCreath's innings kept the chase on course. After he retired and returned, the match came down to the last delivery, with Scotland needing four runs.
Jarvis cleared the boundary to win the match.
BDCricTime's report does not give Scotland's final total, the winning margin or full bowling figures. It also does not name Bangladesh's next opponent or the date of their next fixture.